First, it was Boaty McBoatFace. Now, the internet is hoping Columbus, Ohio will soon be renamed to Flavortown in honor of the great Guy Fieri, a native of the city. With statues of Confederate soldiers being removed all across the country, a petition has been launched online in hopes of renaming the city after Fieri’s trademark term.
As of this writing, the petition is just under 35,000 signatures and it’s locking down a few more every second. To sign it, you can visit the Change.org petition here. Petition organizer Tyler Woodbridge says Flavortown would be a much better name than Columbus, which is pulled from Christopher Columbus.
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“Columbus is an amazing city, but one whose name is tarnished by the very name itself. Its namesake, Christopher Columbus, is in The Bad Place because of all his raping, slave trading, and genocide. That’s not exactly a proud legacy,” Woodbridge writes.
The organizer adds, “Why not rename the city Flavortown? The new name is twofold. For one, it honors Central Ohio’s proud heritage as a culinary crossroads and one of the nation’s largest test markets for the food industry. Secondly, cheflebrity Guy Fieri was born in Columbus, so naming the city in honor of him (he’s such a good dude, really) would be superior to its current nomenclature.”
Fieri is well-known for using his celebrity chef status for good. Most recently, the Food Network star paired with Bill Murray to raise money for food workers affected by coronavirus shutdowns. Prior to that, Fieri has fed hundreds of first responders fighting California wildfires and prior to that, he married hundreds of same-sex couples in honor of his late sister.
The petition has garnered substantial recognition online, from fans of Fieri and brands alike. Even Anheuser-Busch took notice, claiming the company would donate beer to the entire town should it change its name.
This tweet is aging well. Petition is getting close. We’re ready to bring the flavor to Flavortown. https://t.co/CDtXgdsRTU
— Bud Light (@budlight) June 22, 2020
Fieri’s team has yet to offer a comment on the petition.
Cover photo by Roger Kisby/Getty Images
