Florida Chili's cook fired for posting shirtless photos labeled 'Sexy Cooks of Chili's'

Justin Speekz, a cook at a Chili's restaurant in Valrico, Florida, was fired after shirtless photos of him taken in the restaurant's kitchen went viral.

Speekz posted the photos to Facebook with the title "Sexy Cooks of Chili's." Two of the images included Speekz lying on a kitchen table where food is prepared. And while the photos didn't actually violate any health codes — no food was being prepared when they were taken — Chili's issued a statement that the chain "does not encourage this type of behavior."

"We maintain very high standards of food quality, safety, and cleanliness and took immediate steps to ensure the restaurant continues to follow these requirements," Chili's said in a statement. "Additionally, we ended this team member's employment after learning of his conduct."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

Speekz's food preparation career may be over, but he already has a fallback: He moonlights as Tampa rapper J-Speekz.