Petition to rename Columbus, Ohio ‘Flavortown’ in honor of Guy Fieri has nearly 55,000 signatures
A petition to rename Columbus, Ohio to “Flavortown” in honor of celebrity chef and TV host Guy Fieri has cropped up on Change.org, and it already has tens of thousands of signatures.
The petition was created nearly two weeks ago and had garnered more than 54,000 signatures out of 75,000 as of June 23.
“Beloved Buckeyes one and all,” the description reads. “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. Why not rename the city Flavortown?”
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As homage to Guy Fieri, who was born in Columbus, the petition states that the benefits of changing the city’s name to Flavortown are 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,” the petition reads. “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.”
Bud Light even tweeted they’d give out free Bud Light Seltzer if the name change actually happens.
Fieri has yet to respond to the news that his hometown could potentially be named after his famous catchphrase.
“I'm not up to date on my Columbus town charter, so whether it takes a council vote or a petition or a town referendum - let's get the ball rolling for a more flavorful tomorrow” the petition concludes.
Several Columbus statues have been targeted during the widespread protests over the death of George Floyd and racial inequality. Floyd, who was black and handcuffed, died May 25 after a white Minneapolis officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for several minutes, even after he pleaded for air and eventually stopped moving.
RELATED: Christopher Columbus statue beheaded in Boston
A Columbus statue in Richmond, Virginia, was toppled last week. Seven people were arrested for vandalizing a statue of the explorer in Miami. And a statue of Columbus in Boston was beheaded.
Columbus’ sailing expeditions led Europeans to discover America, opening the door to centuries of exploration, conquest and settlement that included establishment of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the killing of scores of Native Americans.
Statues of Columbus across the nation are often vandalized on Columbus Day in October as the explorer has become a polarizing figure. Native American advocates have also long pressed states to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day over concerns that Columbus spurred centuries of genocide against indigenous populations in the Americas.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.