Hot Dog eating legend Joey Chestnut signed with a vegan weiner brand and now he’s out of the annual July 4th Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Competition he wins every year.

California-born Chestnut, who recently signed up with a brand called Impossible Foods, won’t be allowed to compete in the Coney Island tradition and defend the title he’s won 16 times, including every year since 2016, the New York Post reported.

The food champ has completely dominated the competition earning a world record in 2021 with 76 dogs and buns and last year keeping the crown after chomping down on 62 wieners and buns.

The July 4th Nathan’s competition has taken place every year at the corner of Stillwell and Surf avenues, just steps away from the Boardwalk, since 1916.

A representative for Major League Eating (MLE), which runs the event for Nathan’s told the outlet that “the organizers bent over backwards to meet Chestnut’s various other demands,” but had to draw a line when he became the face of a different hot dog brand, with beef wieners it says are made by plants.

“We are devastated to learn that Joey Chestnut has chosen to represent a rival brand that sells plant-based hot dogs rather than competing in the 2024 Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest,” a statement from MLE read.

“MLE and Nathan’s went to great lengths in recent months to accommodate Joey and his management team, agreeing to the appearance fee and allowing Joey to compete in a rival, unbranded hot dog eating contest on Labor Day,” the statement added.

“For nearly two decades we have worked under the same basic hot dog exclusivity provisions. However, it seems that Joey and his managers have prioritized a new partnership with a different brand over our long-time relationship,” the statement continued.

Major League Eating addresses Joey Chestnut’s choice to represent a rival brand, expressing disappointment and hope for his return to Nathan’s Famous. pic.twitter.com/NrbK4aRUc8

— Major League Eating (@eatingcontest) June 11, 2024

MLE closed out its statement by labeling Chestnut “an American hero.”

“We would love nothing more than to have him at the Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest,” the company said. “We hope he returns when he is not representing a rival brand.”

One source told the outlet that the hot dog-eating champ was paid $200,000 to appear in the contest last year, and was offered a four-year contract for $1.2 million going forward.  

“The two sides could still come to a resolution before July 4, but it depends on Joey,” an insider said.

“He’s the Michael Jordan of competitive eating,” the source added. “But imagine if Michael Jordan said to Nike, ‘I love being the face of Nike but I want to do commercials for Adidas too.”

Chestnut took to social media and disputed some of the claims for why he’s out this year. He wrote on X,  “I do not have a contract with MLE or Nathans and they are looking to change the rules from past years as it relates to other partners I can work with. This is apparently the basis on which I’m being banned, and it doesn’t impact the July 4th event.”

Related: Nathan’s Bans Joey Chestnut Over Vegan Demands

Just one-quarter of job growth has gone to natural-born Americans since 2019, with the vast majority of gains going towards both legal and illegal immigrants, a new report from the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) found.

The CIS report provides context to what the New York Times has called a “historically strong job market” and may explain why many voters remain unsatisfied with President Joe Biden’s handling of the economy.

“It is true that the country has added millions of jobs since the height of Covid,” the analysis states. “However, most of that employment growth has gone to immigrants, both legal and illegal.”

The CIS report goes on to point out that a recent study from the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that 971,000 more natural-born Americans were employed in May 2024 compared to May 2019. The number of employed immigrants has, however, increased by 3.2 million in the same period of time.

The labor force participation rate, which measures the share of people who are either working or actively looking for work, has declined significantly among some segments of natural-born Americans. Just 88.4 percent of U.S.-born men between the ages of 25 and 54 are currently participating in the labor force, one of the lowest levels ever recorded. The figure marks a severe drop from 96 percent in 1960.

Among U.S.-born men in that same age range whose education level is “high school diploma or less,” only 81.6 percent are participating in the labor force, just one-tenth of a percent up from the lowest level ever recorded.

“Advocates insist there are simply not enough workers without immigrants,” the CIS report points out. “This argument ignores the long-term deterioration in labor force participation among U.S.-born men.”

The figures come as Biden has presided over a record-breaking surge in illegal immigration. Officials have recorded over 9.5 million nationwide encounters and 1.7 million estimated illegal immigrant gotaway under the Democrat’s term.

The foreign-born population residing in the United States has also hit an all-time high of 51.6 million under the Biden administration marking an astonishing increase of 5.1 million since March 2022.