7 Celebrities That Cried Tears Of Spice On Hot Ones And 7 Guests Who Barely Flinched

The YouTube show "Hot Ones" hosted by Sean Evans is one that has quickly gained popularity — Shake Shack has even had a "Hot Ones" menu — and for good reason. It takes the typical celebrity interview and puts a fun twist on it by having the interviewee eat wings covered in hot sauce in between questions. There are 10 hot sauce covered wings that get spicier and spicier with every question that Evans asks his guest. At one point The Takeout even turned the tables on Evans and questioned him on whether a hot dog is a sandwich. Did we mention that Evans also eats the wings? Who wouldn't want to watch that?

One of the highlights of the show is getting to see how the celebrity guests react to the spice level of the wings — after all everyone has a different tolerance level. Some of the celebrities who have gone on the show handled the spice like champions, but others were left overwhelmed. Due to the varying reaction, we decided to break down for you some of the celebrity guests who were left in tears and others who barely flinched on "Hot Ones."

Actress Lupita Nyong'o — who is known for her roles in movies like "12 Years a Slave" and "Black Panther" — visited the "Hot Ones" show in June of 2024 and it was somewhat of an emotional interview for her. In fact, Nyong'o's episode opens with a clip of her with a tear stained face complaining to Evans about how bad the spice is and telling him that he shouldn't do this to people.

The sauce that brought the actress to tears was one called Da' Bomb, which is known for being the worst sauce on the show and will be mentioned a lot more during this article, with a Scoville level of 135,600. The Scoville scale was invented by Wilbur Scoville, who was a pharmacologist, in 1912 to measure how spicy peppers and chilis are. After taking a bite of a wing covered in the sauce, Nyong'o's face immediately changed and she stated that it hurt before describing the sauce as awful. That was when the tears started cascading down Nyong'o's face causing even Evans to feel bad. Impressively, despite her reaction to Da' Bomb, the actress did manage to make it to the end and she tried all 10 sauces.

Halle Berry was a guest on "Hot Ones" during its ninth season in 2019 and the actress was confident right from the start. She even admitted right off the bat to Evans that she always gets the spiciest food she can wherever she goes — which seemed almost like a challenge to the sauces themselves.

Berry was fairly casual as she ate the hot sauce covered wings, even singing and dancing as the wings' spice level increased. Although, after eating the wing covered in Da' Bomb, Berry confessed that it was the worst one, also noting that it was the nastiest one to which Evans agreed. However, Berry emphasized that she would not be defeated and proceeded to finish the wing. At the end of the episode the actress was even presented with the "Hot Ones" trophy of excellence for going bite for bite with Evans and cleaning every single wing, which is impressive in and of itself. A viewer on Reddit stated that for them what was most impressive was the fact that Berry managed to do it all without a sip of water or milk.

Prior to the release of his fourth studio album, "Room Under the Stairs," Zayn Malik appeared as a guest on "Hot Ones" in March of 2024. At the beginning of the episode, Malik stated that he likes to believe that he has a pretty high spice tolerance having grown up eating Indian food, but noted that the interview and 10 hot sauce covered wings was going to put that to the test.

Malik did manage to keep his composure for a majority of the interview but was another who fell victim to Da' Bomb. Initially brave, Malik made the mistake of taking two bites of the wing which we are sure he immediately regretted as he expressed that the spice was taking him over. The singer tried to appear collected and even joked about letting a tear slip for dramatic effect. However, just seconds later the former One Direction member did actually have tears coming out of his eyes and had to wipe them away — much like some of his fans have to during his sadder songs.

Actor Paul Rudd's episode of "Hot Ones" is known as one of the 15 best "Hot Ones" interviews of all time, despite being almost six years ago. At the beginning of Rudd's historic episode, the "Ant-Man" actor proclaimed himself a spicy food fan and then proceeded to prove it.

Instead of the typical hot sauce covered chicken wings, Rudd enjoyed hot sauce covered cauliflower wings which he, bravely, ate whole throughout the episode. Viewers on Reddit praised Rudd for his attitude and genuineness throughout the interview, they also highlighted the way Rudd showed interest in Evans and asked him questions as well. Cate Blanchett did the same thing during her "Hot Ones" episode. Even in the face of Da' Bomb Rudd kept his smile and, besides a few pauses, was able to continue answering Evans' questions. The actor even finished off the episode by dipping his final cauliflower wing in every single hot sauce and did a fairly emotional acting scene with Evans. It is also important to note that Rudd did not touch his water or milk once throughout the entire episode.

Actress Jennifer Lawrence is a known and self-acknowledged hypochondriac, so it is a little bit surprising that she willingly participated in "Hot Ones" without any anxiety about if the extreme spice could affect her health. Lawrence appeared nervous at the beginning of the episode, stating that she is OK with spice but confessing that she was timid.

Before even reaching Da' Bomb, Lawrence said that she was feeling a little hurt by the spice level of the previous wings. To protect herself from further hurt from the hot sauce that has garnered reactions from a number of "Hot Ones" guests, Lawrence decided to coat her mouth with milk. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to help. Lawrence's initial reaction after eating the Da' Bomb covered wing was simply stating, "oh my goodness," but then the actress proceeded to panic, fanning herself, and drinking from the pitcher of water. Lawrence's spiral continued as she sobbed in pain with tears leaking from her eyes, emphasizing that nothing helped dull the spice from the wing. The actress continued to cry as she answered Evans' questions and finished eating the last two wings — although we're sure she didn't want to.

Besides being a Pro Bowl running back, NFL Offensive Player of the Year for the 2024-25 season, and a part of the Super Bowl LIX winning Philadelphia Eagles, Saquon Barkley is also a "Hot Ones" champion. The athlete said that he prepared for his time on "Hot Ones" the same way he does when getting ready to take the field, by watching film, or previous episodes of the show.

The interview with Barkley was very calm as he kept his head in the game and focused on answering the questions and finishing the hot sauce covered wings one at a time. After the hot sauce covered wings started to kick up in heat, Barkley acknowledged it but made it clear that he was determined to make it to the end and finish them all. The athlete was affected by Da' Bomb, calling it insane, but pushed his way through by drinking water and milk and continued answering questions. Although Barkley was still feeling the effects of Da' Bomb, he made it through the final two wings and even finished off the show by playing Connect Four with Evans.

Pete Davidson is a comedian who is known for his time on "Saturday Night Live," as well as dating notable personalities including Ariana Grande and Kim Kardashian. Davidson appeared on "Hot Ones" just before the pandemic in March of 2020 and was not laughing when it came to eating the hot sauce covered wings.

Similar to Lupita Nyong'o's episode, Davidson's starts off with a clip of him melting down and informing Evans that he has been better. The comedian admitted from the start that he was not a big spicy food fan and that he was a tad horrified going into the interview as he had been warned he would need tissues. Davidson learned why as soon as he got to Da' Bomb. After impressively finishing the wing, the comedian's voice shot up an octave, becoming squeaky, and causing him to have a hard time answering Evans' questions. While the way Davidson was profusely sweating made him quite shiny under the studio light, the shiny lines that stretched down his face made it clear that the wing had in fact brought him to tears. Evans actually forbade Davidson from putting extra of the last dab on the final wing, which is a "Hot Ones" tradition. Despite Davidson saying at the end of the episode that he was embarrassed and mortified, we are sure that he was grateful Evans didn't let him eat any excess hot sauce.

The YouTube show has had a number of TV chefs sweat their way through the "Hot Ones" challenge. One of those chefs was Rachael Ray, who appeared on "Hot Ones"' first-ever Thanksgiving special, fitting since she used to be known as the Turkey Day Queen.

On her episode Ray did something very different from other guests who have gone on "Hot Ones." The chef told Evans that she is very picky about her chicken wings and decided that instead of eating the hot sauce covered wings, she was going to eat the hot sauce by itself with a spoon — a fairly bold move. Throughout the episode Ray educated and gave notes about the different sauces while also talking about her career and what she has become known for. Even after eating Da' Bomb off of a spoon, Ray had no issues answering questions. Although, she did need some tissues for her nose. In fact, with the final sauce Evans had a harder time asking Ray the question than she did answering it.

Basketball player Stephen Curry is a four-time NBA Champion, the NBA's all time leader in three pointers, holds the record for the most three pointers made in a season, and has been an all-star 11 times. Although Curry did succeed in trying all 10 hot sauce covered wings on "Hot Ones," it was clear that he felt some pressure trying to make it there.

The athlete was fairly humble going into the interview, admitting that he has had to get used to spice due to his wife making Jamaican food, but stating that he wasn't going to talk himself up. As the wings got spicier Curry let his competitiveness show, reminding himself that he is not the only one to have done this and taking deep breaths along the way. However, the athlete's calm demeanor faltered when he got to the Da' Bomb. Curry reacted immediately after taking a bite of the hot sauce covered wing, coughing and explaining that he felt the effects of the spice before the wing even touched his teeth. The athlete even let the tiniest of tears slip, but tried to cover it by saying that he was just emotional speaking about legends Reggie Miller and Steve Nash, but we all know it was the fiery wing that made him shed that tear.

Lorde, a New Zealand singer and songwriter, might have been one of the most enthusiastic "Hot Ones" guests. She started her episode off sufficiently excited, stating that the wings look delicious, adding that it felt surreal to be appearing on the show.

The singer ate the wings casually and without issue. Even as the spice level of the wings increased, the singer continued to take two bites of each wing, seeming unfazed and just as if she was enjoying them. When finally tasting Da' Bomb all that Lorde had to say about the sauce was that it was bitter and she didn't enjoy it. Evans complimented her composure — as anyone would — and the singer just laughed before admitting that it was hot but didn't show any major signs of struggling with the heat. Even for the final wing, which is supposed to be one of the spiciest alongside Da' Bomb, the singer piled The Last Dab sauce on and proceeded to finish the wing — even expressing how enjoyable and tasty it was. The Last Dab sauce is the same one that Shake Shack's ultra-hot menu used, which a writer for The Takeout said was intended to destroy people.

Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds guest starred on "Hot Ones" to promote their movie "Deadpool & Wolverine." At the beginning of the episode, Jackman admitted that he was nervous, meanwhile Reynolds was cracking jokes. Jackman even seemed a little perplexed as he watched Evans and Reynolds dig into the first hot sauce covered wing with no hesitation.

As all three men made their way through the wings, Jackman seemed cautious by smelling some, taking small bites — even panicking a little when he took too big a bite of the wing covered in Chairman Meow's Revenge — and trying his best not to let the wings touch his lips. After trying the infamous Da' Bomb, the actor was initially left wide-eyed and speechless. Jackman tried to move forward and do superlatives for Australia and Canada, but was coming apart at the seams. Eventually, the actor started to shed tears and even went as far as jokingly accusing Evans of putting chilis into the ice cream that he was given.

Steve-O is known for his risky and often dangerous stunts and antics on the hit series "Jackass." This means that the hot sauce covered wings in his episode of "Hot Ones" were nothing compared to the various acts that he has had to perform in his role. The daredevil even admitted at the beginning of his episode, that he can't stand eating anything without at least a little bit of hot sauce.

As Steve-O and Evans dug into the first wing, Steve-O decided to add even more of the hot sauce to the wings. He even proceeded to add Valentina hot sauce to wings covered in other sauces, throwing caution to the wind and making them even more spicy. The daredevil remained composed and talkative even after eating the spiciest sauces that Evans had to offer. Although Steve-O admitted to his throat and body not liking the hot sauces, his facial expressions never seemed overwhelmed or anything other than engaged in the conversation with Evans. If viewers didn't know any better, they might have even thought that Steve-O was just eating plain wings, that's how little he reacted.

Conan O'Brien might be one of the wildest guests that "Hot Ones" has ever had. The television host and comedian started off his episode by admitting that he grew up without really any spice, although with how the rest of the episode goes you would never know it.

O'Brien started off confident, informing Evans that he did not fear his wings and telling him to bring it. At one point O'Brien even said that he didn't think there was a hot sauce covered wing on the table that he couldn't eat like it's just cool whip cream. The comedian also, strangely, kept the remains of the wings and put them into his jacket pocket. Towards the end of the episode, O'Brien did what some might consider as impressive and others would call unusual. For the last three wings the comedian added more hot sauce than they typically come with, slathering the wing with Da' Bomb sauce, his hands and face with Matasanos sauce, and even taking a sip of the final hot sauce — The Last Dab Xperience. O'Brien tried to downplay the severity of the heat level by saying the show couldn't produce a wing that could affect him, but the bright red tone of his face and the tears from his eyes said otherwise.

Alton Brown was another guest who did things differently on his episode of "Hot Ones," by asking for a glass of half-and-half instead of milk — explaining that you either want fat or alcohol when it comes to spicy food. Brown was unafraid and wasted no time getting into the wings and even ate the second one long before Evans even got to it.

Brown ate the wings very casually as he answered Evans' questions and talked about his life and career. He also showed off his profession as a chef as he analyzed and ranked the sauces as he tried them, even drinking the "Hot Ones" Fiery Chipotle sauce straight out of the bottle in order to get a better taste. The chef ended up rating the sauce number one out of the 10 hot sauces that he tried. The chef did take a sip from the half-and-half as he got to the last three sauces — the spiciest — but didn't break a sweat or react in any animated sort of way after eating them. He just carried on with his assessments of the sauces, as well as his conversation with Evans.