People think Guy Fieri is a better philanthropist than Elon Musk
Guy Fieri isn't just the mayor of Flavortown. He's a national hero.
As the Carr fire scorches through Northern California, becoming the seventh most destructive fire in the state's history, Guy Fieri rushed to feed the thousands of first responders and evacuees. Some people think the celebrity chef has been more helpful during this disaster than Elon Musk was during the Thai cave rescue.
SEE ALSO:Elon Musk's kid-submarine was 'a PR stunt,' Thailand cave rescue diver saysThe Carr fire started on July 23, torching more than 112,000 acres and sweeping through the city of Redding. Fieri drove from Napa Valley on Saturday, and José Andrés' nonprofit World Central Kitchen joined him two days later. Since Monday, Fieri and his team have prepared over 1,000 meals twice a day with the disaster aid organization Operation BBQ Relief.
"My son and I, and his buddies, and a bunch of mine, we loaded up our caravan from wine country and drove four hours up here," Fieri told ABC7. "We're in tough times ... with all of the things going on, you take a moment like this and you really see America is made of a lot of great people coming together."
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This is the second time that Fieri has volunteered to feed victims of California wildfires. Last October, he and his family had to evacuate their Santa Rosa home when fires threatened his neighborhood. Three days later, he arrived at the evacuation center with a smoker and a wood fire oven to cook for the displaced shelter residents, preparing 1,200 meals in one lunch.
He told KQED that the move wasn't a "PR stunt."
"If that's what you think and you're that shallow at a time like this with what we're facing, then there's no changing your mind about that," he said during the October fires. "I'm not promoting anything. I'm just here cooking. This is feeding people. People need help, and I'm here to help. That's it."
And some Twitter users pointed out that unlike certain rich celebrities who try to swoop in during disasters, Fieri's efforts were genuine. In a now-deleted tweet, @BowieWhale said, "Guy Fieri has, with no publicity, been feeding 5000 wildfire evacuees, proving that he is much more decent and altruistic than Elon Musk."
They're referring to the cave debacle, when Musk tried to save a team of boys who were stranded in an underwater cave in Thailand. Musk commissioned a kid-size submarine, went on a Twitter rant when it was criticized as "not practical," and then called Vern Unsworth -- one of the lead rescuers -- a "pedo" after he dismissed the mini sub as a "PR stunt" that had "absolutely no chance of working."
Musk managed to make the rescue mission about himself, and then when he couldn't be the hero, still managed to make it about himself.
Which is why Guy Fieri is the internet's new darling. With his bleached spiky hair and weird affinity for flame-printed button up shirts, Fieri has been written off as a cheesy dad way past his prime. But compared to Musk's ridiculous narcissistic Twitter feuds with pretty much anyone who criticizes him, Fieri's once tacky quirks are actually kind of endearing.
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Twitter users, probably tired of Musk's antics (like complaining about the word "billionaire" basically being a slur) have found a new icon to stan.
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And even though the two celebrities are in totally different industries -- and verydifferent tax brackets -- it's hard not to compare them when Fieri is literally cooking hot meals for displaced wildfire victims, and Musk had to be shooed out of the Thai cave.
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And the sub roasts are pretty good, too.
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News about Fieri also dominated Reddit. Two of the top ten posts on r/all on Wednesday morning were about his volunteering, and r/EnoughMuskSpam lauded the Flavortown leader as "the antithesis of Musk."
Fieri, meanwhile, hasn't responded to his newfound devotees. He's been busy cooking for fire victims and has been "trying to keep the menu interesting." Since last week, the wildfire has destroyed more than 1,000 homes, burned down 12 business and 435 other buildings, and ravaged through an area four times the size of San Francisco. Six people have died because of the fire, including two firefighters. There are more than 3,600 people working to put the fire out, which is now 35 percent contained.
"It's unbelievable to see what folks are going through, but it's even more unbelievable just how great this community is, and [to see] all these folks that have come together," Fieri said.
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