After his controversial tweets about Black women resurfaced, Chef Way resigned from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office in Texas. The food influencer, whose real name is Waymond Wesley, became an online sensation as a chef and has a following of over 250,000 on TikTok.
The fallout began when Wesley shared the recipe for his viral oxtail pasta. Several followers remembered his volatile past and took a moment to remind the chef.
Twitter started to share screenshots of Wesley’s old tweets from his now-deleted account, @WaymoTheGod.
The outraged followers even found tweets from Wesley’s mom denouncing his actions and hateful words toward Black women.
He apologized, addressing his old tweets and stating that his new passion for cooking “helped him heal.”
His apology didn’t go over well with followers as they continued to share remnants of his old persona.
Users urged Wesley’s boss, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, to reprimand the attorney. Instead, Ogg stood behind Wesley and released a statement claiming she believed in “second chances.”
Ogg added, “These posts were inappropriate and offensive and do not reflect my values or those of the Harris County district attorney’s office. Mr. Wesley has explained that these posts came during a period in which he was struggling with serious personal issues, including alcohol addiction.”
Wesley lost several endorsements because of the negative tweets.
After users flooded the mentions of appliance maker Anova Culinary, the brand quickly distanced itself from the influencer.
Food and travel network Tastemade followed suit and severed ties.
Wesley joined the DA’s office in 2021, and social media users questioned his ability to be an attorney unbiasedly serving the public.
Just came here to say that I hope EVERY Black woman who had a case involving the @HarrisCountyDAO @kimoggforda is appealed and reopened if @ChefWay__ even SNIFFED the case files.
His egregious bias towards Black women most certainly affected outcomes in court.
— NuthinButNette (@NuthinButNetteZ) January 11, 2023
The Twitter scandal put too much heat on the chef, causing him to resign.
He released a statement via Instagram sharing the news of his resignation.
View this post on Instagram
Wesley recalled moments of his life starting in 2015-2016, revealing his battle with alcoholism.
He claimed his hopelessness while dealing with his addiction caused him to seek attention and lash out at people, including Black women.
Wesley continued by stating he “deeply regret[s]” and is “sorry” for his tweets.
He emphasized his apology to Black women, adding that his “alcoholism is not an excuse” but “gives context for who [he] was at that time in [his] life.”
He admitted he was “a bully” and chose to “pick on the most disrespected, unprotected, and neglected demographic in America.”
The chef said he didn’t experience any “childhood trauma, romantic heartbreak, or other interaction with a Black woman that would ever cause for [him] to hate them.”
He added a segment claiming the tweet attributed to him that read “Black b*****s make for good punching bags” was fake. He stated that the individual responsible for crafting the tweet, Latry Howard, has publicly and privately apologized for their actions.
Wesley included words about his path to sobriety. He wrote that he has participated in AA meetings and therapy and has relied on his family and faith.
He stated that cooking helped him through difficult times.
Wesley ended the lengthy statement by officially announcing his resignation from the Harris County DA’s Office.
He referenced the DA’s Office’s attempt to support him but acknowledged his presence as a “distraction.”
“But once I saw that my presence at the DA’s Office was becoming larger than the Office itself and the ability of Black women in particular to feel protected, I knew the only correct course of action was to resign and allow the healing process to begin.”
The Harris County DA’s Office released a statement on Twitter regarding Wesley’s resignation.
𝟭/𝟰 Waymond Wesley has resigned his position with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
Wesley was hired in March 2021, but was only recently assigned as a prosecutor in the Misdemeanor Trial Bureau, where all of his cases were supervised by a senior prosecutor. pic.twitter.com/SBA3I1hUH8— Harris County DA (@HarrisCountyDAO) January 24, 2023
𝟮/𝟰 At the time of hiring, the DAO was unaware of a series of disparaging & offensive comments Wesley had posted on social media years earlier. When the office became aware of the posts, it was determined he could no longer effectively prosecute cases and he was reassigned.
— Harris County DA (@HarrisCountyDAO) January 24, 2023
𝟯/𝟰 Wesley apologized for his offensive comments and explained that they came during a period in which he was struggling with serious personal issues, including alcohol addiction, from which he is recovering.
— Harris County DA (@HarrisCountyDAO) January 24, 2023
𝟰/𝟰 In his resignation letter, Wesley noted that “it has grown clear that my presence is becoming a distraction,” and he and the office mutually agreed that it was in the best interests of his career and the DAO that he resign.
— Harris County DA (@HarrisCountyDAO) January 24, 2023
Chef Way’s full resignation letter is below:
Chef Way, a prosecutor whose racist tweets targeting Black women resurfaced, says he has resigned from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office pic.twitter.com/TDdy9K7Ehz
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) January 24, 2023
