Celebrity chef Guy Fieri is being sued over a failed restaurant that came out of one of his reality shows.
Back in January 2022, Fieri launched Guy’s Chance of a Lifetime on Food Network. The show featured seven chefs competing for the chance to run their own location of Chicken Guy, one of Fieri’s restaurant chains.
Philadelphia chef Kevin Cooper won the competition. As part of his prize, he was promised a $100,000 salary for the first year, no franchise fee, $10,000 for legal costs, and support with building and running the restaurant if it didn’t turn a profit right away per a story in the Daily Mail.
Cooper opened his Chicken Guy location in February 2024 at the King of Prussia Mall near Philadelphia. Around the same time, Fieri made headlines for losing 30 pounds. However, the restaurant shut down just over a year later in February 2025.
Kevin Cooper also appeared on several other Food Network shows before winning Guy’s Chance of a Lifetime. He competed on Cooks vs. Cons and Guy’s Grocery Games, and even took part in the Canadian cooking competition series Fire Masters.
No official reason was given for the closure, but Philly Mag reports that Cooper has filed a lawsuit against Fieri’s company Chicken Guy LLC and Earl Enterprises LLC.
The lawsuit claims that Guy Fieri never paid the $100,000 salary he promised to Kevin Cooper after winning the reality show. Despite Cooper asking for the money several times, it was never given.
The lawsuit also says Fieri didn’t cover the restaurant’s extra expenses, even though he had promised to if the shop didn’t make enough money. Those unpaid expenses added up to $69,000—$39,000 of which was for Pennsylvania sales taxes.
Cooper is now suing Fieri’s company to get the $100,000 salary and the $69,000 in business costs he says he’s owed.
Although Cooper hasn’t made a public statement about the lawsuit, he did post a video on Instagram Sunday, saying he’s been “quiet” on social media lately.
“I know y’all have noticed I’ve been a little quiet lately, not just on social media, but in general,” Cooper said.
“However, there are some blessings in the quiet, right? There were some moments where I didn’t even want to speak my truth, because the version of the God that was handed down by my ancestors, wasn’t the version that I came to know in my quiet space.”
“So for a long time I held back, because I didn’t want to become just another black man pushing the blame because I was done dirty,” he added.
“I also realized that I didn’t want my life wrapped in a faith that was once used to enslave my peoples,” Cooper continued.
“But by the grace of the true and living God, I didn’t just heal, I forgave. I came to know the Christ before those chains. I came to know the Christ who walked across Africa before those boats came.”
In conclusion he said, “I ain’t mad, I ain’t angry, and I ain’t even trying to make anybody look bad, man. I’m just here to let y’all know that I am completely free and now I’ve got something to say, so y’all stay tuned. Peace.”
Guy Fieri has faced several controversies and legal issues over the years. In 2011, the producer of his show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, David Page, sued Fieri’s team for alleged workplace misconduct, including antisemitic, homophobic, and sexist behavior—claims Fieri’s side denied and countersued over.
Between 2012 and 2013, Fieri was publicly mocked by Anthony Bourdain, who called one of his restaurants a “terror-dome,” prompting a sharp comeback from Fieri during a roast. Around the same time, TMZ caught Fieri in a physical altercation with his personal hairdresser during a flight, though his team downplayed it as playful roughhousing. He’s also had some failed business ventures, including the much-criticized Guy’s American Kitchen & Bar in New York City, which closed in 2017, and a canceled winery project in Sonoma that was met with strong local opposition.
