At this point, I can only assume you've heard of Keith Lee, the TikTok food personality who racks up millions of views for his food tours across the country. His videos have so much influence on the restaurant scene that the phenomenon has been dubbed the "Keith Lee Effect": cities prepare for his arrival, restaurants often see lines out the door from a positive review, or intense debate sparks after a particularly negative experience.
With almost 17 million followers on TikTok, Keith has built his reputation as an authentic and relatable food critic. He refuses to accept free food or perks and promises to always give his honest, unbiased opinion on the food he eats — and his latest bizarre experience with a Seattle sushi restaurant is no exception.
During his tour, Keith checked out FOB Sushi Bar, which he said was "one of the most recommended places" since he'd arrived in Seattle. FOB isn't like any other sushi restaurant, though. As Keith describes in the original taste test video, everything is "buffet style": you grab a box, approach a display of various pieces of sushi (based solely on his video, most seemed to be nigiri), use tongs to grab whichever ones you want, and then pay by weight at $14.99 per pound.
Due to a shellfish allergy, Keith's options were limited, but he was still able to get a few pieces. His first bite of salmon nigiri received a middle rating of 5/10; the salmon was fresh, in his opinion, but "not the freshest" he's had, and he mentioned that his main issue was the "overcooked" rice. He gave the next two pieces 6.5's, reiterating that the overcooked rice was "killing" it for him.
His next piece is hamachi nigiri, and despite the overcooked rice, he says this one is his favorite, giving it an 8.5/10.
Unfortunately, this is where things start to go a little awry. People began flooding the comment section, claiming a "worm" was moving on the piece of fish. A viral video by creator @goojiepooj even slowed down the clip of Keith eating, which showed something visibly *ahem* moving on the edge of the hamachi.
If you get queasy easily, I suggest skipping the following photos, but here is a closer look at the so-called "worm."
Let's just zoom in a bit:
Keith seemingly doesn't notice anything in his video and continues on with his review, saying FOB Sushi Bar is "absolutely a place I would come back to" and that it's "heaven" for anyone who likes sushi. According to him, the line for the restaurant was out the door when he was filming.
Despite Keith's overall positive review and not noticing anything unusual with his fish, there was no escaping Wormgate. After facing scrutiny from all corners of the internet, FOB Sushi Bar posted a statement to Instagram a few days later. In it, they stated that the claims of worms in their sashimi were "entirely false."
They go on to specify all the safety standards they adhere to when it comes to serving raw fish, including "freezing fish to specified temperatures," which "effectively eliminates parasites." While the type and size of fish, as well as the type of parasite, are factors to consider when using this method, the FDA does state that the temperatures listed below "are sufficient to kill parasites."
According to FOB Sushi, that slight movement in the fish may have been from its "natural elasticity or the pressure of chopsticks when applied to its structure."
They continue on to say that they are proud of their "meticulous fish-handling process" and "have never had any issues regarding food safety."
Sadly, for FOB Sushi, people weren't quite buying it and found it hard to believe that simply applying pressure with chopsticks to a piece of fish would cause part of it to move in such a way.
Shortly after that statement was released, another TikToker (@joshuam_rivera) posted a video alleging that FOB Sushi was the reason his girlfriend was hospitalized. According to Joshua, the couple ate at the restaurant, and the next day, his girlfriend began feeling sick and exhibiting food poisoning symptoms. After going to urgent care and getting a stool test, the results revealed that she had a "form of E. coli." Joshua said in his video that she is still recovering in the hospital due to ongoing symptoms.
Of course, whether or not this was from the sushi can't be confirmed or denied. E. coli can be found in many foods, most recently in carrots, which have resulted in hospitalizations, including in Washington.
Joshua's video, coupled with the restaurant's statements, then pushed Keith to respond to all the controversy a day later. He says that in the slowed-down video of him eating the sushi, "it did appear that something moved," but admits he "didn't see anything until somebody pointed it out."
Although he couldn't "confirm or deny" what it was, he supposedly felt okay but believed he needed to speak out. "I don't believe in tearing down any business, but at the same time, people's health are on the line," he says.
Regarding FOB Sushi's statement claiming that the tension from holding the chopsticks caused the fish to "move," Keith disagrees: "I've had sushi a thousand times, and I held sushi a thousand different ways, and never once have I seen sushi behave in that way."
And while he says he understands the risks of eating raw fish, he still wishes that the restaurant would "be more accountable" about the whole situation.
One day after that video was shared and garnered close to 30 million views, FOB Sushi posted another statement to Instagram, claiming they were closing their Seattle and Bellevue restaurant locations "until further notice." They are now supposedly "conducting a thorough investigation to address the situation."
According to the Seattle Times, a health inspector "attempted to conduct an inspection" on Monday, the same day they announced the closure, but the doors were closed. Although we don't know the exact reason for the closure and subsequent inspection attempt, records do show that no health code violations were found when the restaurant was inspected in January. In fact, they received an "excellent" rating. Health officials are supposedly still planning to "follow up with the restaurant to discuss food safety measures."
Previous reviews for FOB Sushi on Google and Yelp are also largely positive, with 4.6 and 4.5 stars respectively. However, some customers in a Reddit thread claim to have gotten sick after eating there.
Let us know your thoughts on Wormgate in the comments.
BuzzFeed has reached out to both FOB Sushi Bar and Keith Lee for comments but did not hear back from them at the time this was published. We'll update you if we do.