Now that it’s officially Autumn, we are drawn even more toward warmth. It’s the same for contestants on First We Feast’s Hot Ones Versus. Two or more celebrity friends ask and admit insightful and sometimes revealing personal and professional questions. Mess up an answer? Eat a spicy chicken wing. The more mistakes, the spicier the wing. The fewer mistakes, the greater the chance of winning the coveted Golden Chicken Wing trophy.
If Alison Brie and husband, Dave Franco didn’t like to kiss before their Hot Wings Versus gig, they do now. They kiss a lot. The increasingly conjoined co-stars of the romantic horror movie Together dress casually for greater comfort while they remember or guess answers about their partner correctly. Or don’t. Some are softball personal history questions like first childhood celebrity crush or high school clown name. There is a physical challenge, which is when the kissing happens. All for science, of course. A long, slow kiss; then a guess as to the flavor of the just smooched lip balm. Some questions require more diplomatic answers or a willingness to remain silent and eat a sacrificial spicy chicken wing. Alone or as a sign of solidarity. Examples include ranking the other person’s projects from best to worst and confessing which was hardest to watch. There is flirting, juicy finger sucking, suggestive banter, and a double dose of love. Also, spicy chicken wings.
Ashanti and Nelly don’t just make beautiful, Grammy-winning music, they are also said to have a “fairy tale” romance, reflected in their reality show, We Belong Together. Whether their marriage survives after their time on Hot Wings Versus is another matter. The only things we know for sure are that this couple is splashing happily in the hot tub of love and Nelly drinks a LOT of water after spicy chicken wings. The problem may be that they’re both just nice people who love each other in a collaborative way and think well of their industry friends. That’s why questions like which couple they would definitely not want to double date with and which Nelly song they could live without hearing again are likely to result in spicy chicken wing eating. The sexy thing is the lovable and loving chatter between the two. The funny thing is how much water Nelly can ingest during the match. Enough to inspire her to remind him she’s still breastfeeding and him to say, “Maybe I should swallow it faster.”
Here are two dangerously fappable celebrities: Charlize Theron and Uma Thurman. They co-star in The Old Guard 2 but, more importantly, they go taste bud to taste bud in this Hot Wings Versus version of Truth or Dare. Watching live backstage are pro boxers Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor, who cheer the actresses on during a game of Rock ‘em, Sock ‘em Robots. Before that, Uma lists which of her movies she’d put on Mt. Rushmore and what her love language is, the two do their best to talk tough, and Charlize confesses how she’d prefer to die. Bonus points for the following out-of-context quotes: “Once it’s in my mouth, it’s really good!” “I feel like my bra’s going to fall off.” “Is this poison? You can barely tell it’s chicken,” and “Just eat the fuckin’ wing, bitch!” The heat tolerances of Amanda and Katie are also revealed.
Singer-songwriters Clairo and Laufey may be the cutest competitors to laugh through the spicy chicken wing torture of Hot Wings Versus. They’re adorable on their own and together they’re nearly too precious. The slender young women learn about themselves and each other, as well as how to laugh through the pain. There’s a lot of laughing. Laufey has to rank her favorite Taylor Swift songs, Clairo must confess her greatest fear and her cringiest lyrics. A Friendship Test reveals that Icelandic native Laufey loves a dairy treat known as tindur. Alas for Clairo, “cheese” was not what she thought about when she heard “tindur.” Laufey loves Iceland so much she has nothing bad to say about it, which earns her an entire wing and chats with the crew about Icelandic hot dogs. Suddenly, she says, “Oh, no. Something just came back up.” Later, she tops that with, “I think there’s something leaking out of my nose.”
Coco Jones is a singer-songwriter and actress with a huge smile and beautiful black skin. Jake Shane is a wholesome-looking gay comic and influencer whose idea of dressing up is a clean white t-shirt. Once he puts a spicy chicken wing into his mouth, he becomes an object of Coco’s pity. Also, the personification of her spicy chicken wing nightmares. “I’m going to cry for you,” she says before she screams, “No! No way! I’m so scared,” in genuine dread. Two truths and a lie result in no pain. That changes when Coco gets Jake’s dream podcast guest wrong. Now, Coco feels like her mouth is full of bees, and Jake is dizzy. The best moment for many is when Jake is shocked to learn he loves cottage cheese. The spiciest wings are saved until after they tell embarrassing secrets and snuggle the purple emotional support octopus. Wings are eaten by both, and while Jack enthusiastically stuffs his face, Coco exclaims, “Bad Vibes! Bad! What the fuck is wrong with you?”