Dallas chef John Tesar has been Tweeting under the curious name @truth24471632 since April 2022. Why? He was suspended from his primary account, @chefjohntesar, for threatening conservative TV personality Sean Hannity.
“It was a mistake,” says Tesar, a several-time Top Chef contestant whose Orlando restaurant Knife & Spoon just won a Michelin star. “Semantically, it was a mistake,” he clarifies.
Representatives from Twitter will not confirm the content of Tesar’s October 2021 tweet, which was written in response to a COVID-19 vaccine-related tweet originally posted by Hannity. Tesar’s account was suspended for nine months until he manually deleted the tweet on July 4, 2022. The suspension was first reported by D’s critic.
Here’s how Tesar summarized the incident:
“[Hannity] sent an anti-vax tweet,” Tesar recalls. “So I said, ‘If you feel that way about vaccinations, I hope you get the mumps, the measles and the clap.’ I didn’t realize if you wish something upon somebody, it’s considered a threat.”
But it is. A Twitter spokesman says the tweet violated Twitter’s rules on abusive behavior.
Tesar says his tweet was intended to stand up for vaccines. He believes it’s dangerous for TV personalities and politicians to steer the public away from COVID-19 vaccinations during a public-health crisis.
“I have to shout it out,” the chef says.
A history of Twitter rants
This is the second time Tesar has been disciplined for violating Twitter’s rules. Before the Hannity incident, Tesar was suspended for 10 days for tweeting at Rudy Giuliani, former New York City mayor and a former member of Donald Trump’s personal legal team.
Tesar doesn’t remember the details of the tweet; he believes Giuliani was repping Trump by saying the presidential election was stolen. And why can’t Tesar remember such an important conversation? Tesar argues with politicians on Twitter almost constantly. His @chefjohntesar account includes more than 15,000 tweets. Look at Tesar’s “tweets & replies” tab for his new account, and there’s a daily standoff between the Dallas chef and conservative politicians.
“I’m just tired of being lied to by every politician,” the 64-year-old says. “At my age, I take it very seriously. I think Twitter is a great place to release your frustrations as long as you don’t make it personal.”
That’s been Tesar’s trouble.
Tesar was once called “the most hated chef in Dallas” by D, a title that still haunts him. He spewed cuss words at a former Dallas Morning News restaurant critic because he disagreed with her review. For years, he was a “rageholic,” he said in a 2017 interview.
Some five years ago, he claimed to have changed his ways, saying he started meditating, going to therapy and smoking weed to relax. Twitter-as-therapy is another way the chef clears his head, he says. Nearly every day, Tesar scans tweets from Congressman Jim Jordan, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, Senator Ted Cruz, Hannity and others, then responds to them when he disagrees.
“When I call someone out for lying in politics, I feel better about it,” he says. “I do it in the privacy of my own home. I get it out of my head. I feel better. And I go on with my day.”
A case for Tesar?
The Dallas chef says he “learned his lesson” after his Twitter account was put on pause and he lost the ability to reach his 6,000 or so followers.
Tesar’s Florida restaurant just won a Michelin star, and Dallas diners have been buzzing about whether Texas will be able to attract Michelin next. Tesar worries that travelers will avoid Texas because of its image as a red state led by headline-making conservatives like Cruz and Gov. Greg Abbott, he says.
Tesar says he’s neither Republican nor Democrat. He calls himself a Libertarian.
“I worry about my political comments affecting people wanting to come to dinner,” he says.
“But I think the steak is too good for people to care.”
