Gordon Ramsay is not making nice with his neighbors.
The famous chef is under fire with the townspeople of England's Cornwall after he said he "can't stand" them in a radio interview.
"Trust me, I absolutely love Cornwall, it's just the Cornish I can't stand," he said on Zoe Ball's BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show this week. After a radio host pressed him about the comment, Gordon said, "I promise I did mean it."
Quickly after the remarks, Gordon's spokesman said he was simply joking.
"Gordon has made these tongue-in-cheek comments many, many times," the rep said. The comments, the rep added, are "always, very clearly, said in good humor and seen that way by the majority."
Still, the locals did not see it that way, and many took to social media to shred the "Next Level Chef" host.
"Never liked that man, he's so horrible. We don't want him in Cornwall ever," one person said.
Another local added, "Well the feeling is entirely mutual. No question he's a good cook but his attitude absolutely stinks and I have to grit my teeth watching his cookery programs. But listening to him talking in that breathy voice just aggravates me. I'm pretty sure that Cornwall and the Cornish wouldn't miss him for a nanosecond if he didn't live or visit here."
Some were even more touchy, essentially equating Gordon's comments to a hate crime, as the government recognizes Cornish people as a national minority.
Gordon has been at odds with the community before, as he and his family spend much of 2020 there, relocating from their London home during the pandemic. Some locals felt he flouted COVID guidelines, as Brits were encouraged not to travel.
In a recent interview with Radio Times, Gordon spoke about the heavy criticism he endured for retreating to his holiday home, which he's had for 10 years.
"God knows why we took so much s— from the Cornish. We lived down there; we just hadn't been down there for a long time. We didn't sneak down there at all. We got there at an appropriate time, and had an absolutely amazing time," he said, while also adding he no regrets about spending time with family during lockdown. "A time like that – we'll never get back again. When the kids started disappearing again, I didn't want it to end – as a dad, not a chef."