Guy Fieri responds to backlash about controversial exchange at UFC in Miami

Things are not always as they seem, Guy Fieri is telling his fans.

The Food Network star took to social media after receiving backlash for interacting with two infamous guests at Saturday night’s UFC 327 event at the Kaseya Center in downtown Miami.

In an Instagram clip shared by BroBible sports editor Jorge Alonso, Fieri can be seen making his way down the greeting line through the arena.

The celeb chef first shoulder bumps and finger grabs Andrew Tate, who introduces him to his younger brother Tristan and they shake hands.

“Good time, right!?” a smiling Fieri asks them, but the response is not audible amid the din.

Alonso’s followers were enraged Fieri would socialize with the former kickboxers who were arrested in Romania in December 2022 and charged with rape and human trafficking. The Washington, D.C., natives have also faced multiple investigations in both the United States and England, where they were raised.

Among the comments:

“Wow ... so unbelievably disappointing. So gross.”

“Yikes.”

“Disgusted.”

“Cancel that dude.”

On Tuesday, Fieri addressed the controversy, which looks to be already affecting his brand (an appearance tied to a partnership with Waterloo sparkling water was canceled that day, Page Six notes).

“I’m devastated,” Fieri posted on X, explaining he just happened by chance upon the siblings, who he had neve rmet before, at the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

“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.”