Guy Fieri is addressing angry fans after he was seen having a seemingly friendly interaction with Andrew Tate and his brother, Tristan Tate.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – FEBRUARY 10: Guy Fieri attends Michael Rubin’s 2024 Fanatics Super Bowl Party at the Marquee Nightclub at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on February 10, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Fanatics)
In video shared on social media, Fieri can be seen “dapping up” Tate, shaking his hand and doing a polite hug at “UFC 327: Procházka vs. Ulberg” in Miami on Saturday.
Fans took to Fieri’s comments to express their disapproval of his interaction with the Tate brothers. The Tates faced 21 criminal charges in the U.K. in 2025, including rape, assault and human trafficking. They have repeatedly denied all charges.
The Tates are also controversial for their masculinity-focused online content that often veers into misogyny.
BUCHAREST, ROMANIA – MARCH 23: Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan Tate talk to the media outside their residence on March 23, 2025 in Bucharest, Romania. Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan had flown to the United States last month from Romania, where they have been charged with rape, having sex with a minor, human trafficking and money laundering, charges which they deny. Their bail conditions stipulated that they had to return to Romania by March 23. (Photo by Andrei Pungovschi/Getty Images)
Fieri took to X on Tuesday to address fans’ concerns.
“I’m seeing all of your comments about the photo from Saturday’s UFC event and all I can say is that I’m devastated,” the Food Network star wrote. “I was there to see the fights and when I was walking through the venue, the Tate brothers stood up and said hello and that’s when the exchanged happened.”
He continued, “I did not know them or about them before that moment. I’ll never pretend to be a perfect person but let me be crystal clear, I do not know the Tate brothers nor do I support them in any way.”
While Fieri denies knowledge of the Tate Brothers, their attorney, Joseph McBride, issued a statement to Entertainment Weekly denouncing Fieri’s apology.
Guy Fieri arrives before President Donald Trump to attend UFC 327 at Kaseya Center, Saturday, April 11, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
“Guy Fieri knew exactly who Andrew and Tristan Tate were. He stood up, he walked over, and for one moment, he acted like a man who doesn’t need permission to say hello,” the statement read in part. “Then his phone rang, and what followed was one of the more embarrassing public performances in recent memory. A grown man, publicly flogged into a groveling statement because he shook hands with someone his bosses don’t like.”
McBride claims Fieri was “pressured” into his apology by “the same people who have spent years manufacturing a case against two innocent men. They are not interested in justice. They are interested in control. And Guy Fieri just showed them it works. Pathetic capitulation.”
Follow us on Instagram @WeArePauseRewind for all your pop culture obsessions.