Sean Evans is the co-creator and host of Hot Ones, a talk show that interviews celebrities while they eat increasingly spicy chicken wings. It’s very well-researched, and Evans often surprises people by asking questions they’ve never been asked before. Over the years, Hot Ones has produced many viral moments, including Conan O’Brien’s epic appearance where he chugged the show’s hottest sauce, Da Bomb.
Keke Palmer has appeared on Hot Ones three times. She’s one of the few guests to appear more than once. During a 2023 appearance on Amelia Dimoldenberg’s Chicken Shop Date, Evans revealed that Keke was his guest star crush. Keke heard about it, and during her third Hot Ones challenge in September 2025, she suggested they kiss to find out if they had any chemistry. Well, sparks must have flown because Sean and Keke were spotted out on a date in New York City over the weekend. According to TMZ and Deuxmoi, they were at an Italian restaurant in Brooklyn. Here’s more from Us Weekly:
Hot Ones host Sean Evans and Nope actress Keke Palmer are fueling online rumors they’re dating in the wake of their viral TV kiss.
The pair were spotted enjoying an intimate dinner at Brooklyn Italian hot spot Lucali on Friday, June 12, per photos obtained by multiple outlets including celebrity gossip site DeuxMoi and TMZ.
In the photos, Evans, 40, and Palmer, 32, were seen “locked in” during their 90-minute meal, per Cosmopolitan. While the two did not reportedly show any public displays of affection during their outing, sources told TMZ that Evans appeared to be “smitten” over Palmer.
While appearing at the special FYC event at Hollywood’s Avalon on Tuesday, June 9, Evans opened up — again — about his palpable chemistry with Palmer, who has previously described as “charming.”
“Working with Keke Palmer is always like a one plus one equals three situation,” Evans said at the time, per The Hollywood Reporter. “You know who I loved interviewing was Viola Davis. I really loved interviewing Viola Davis. Paul Rudd is another one who immediately understood what we were doing and got me.”
The pair have never publicly defined or shared their relationship status. Us Weekly has reached out to reps for both Evans and Palmer for comment.
Online rumors Evans and Palmer are a romantic couple have hit a fever pitch as of late and ever since the Hot Ones host admitted he had something of a crush on the actress.
“Keke Palmer,” Evans told Chicken Shop Date host Amelia Dimoldenberg when he was asked if he liked anyone he had ever interviewed. “Very charming. Very charming woman.”
Palmer later reacted to the viral admission, writing in the comments section of a post featuring the interview clip, “It was love at first hot wing — this was too kind @seanseaevans.” The actress later told People in an August 2024 interview that she as “living for” his confession.
“Not to say that I was surprised or I wasn’t surprised,” she explained at the time. “But when I heard it and people were sending it to me, I was like, ‘I knew the vibes were vibing.’”
Later, in September 2025, the pair finally shared their first (Us assumes) real-life kiss during Palmer’s third Hot Ones appearance.
“And then there’s one more thing I’d like to say, Sean,” Palmer said during the episode, taking charge of the program. “Because I saw an interview where you said, like, I was your favorite guest, you know, and all this really sweet stuff. And I know we’ve just had some wings, but I thought that maybe we could just have a quick smooch to see if there’s a spark.”
“When I’m dying and my life flashes before my eyes, I’ll have that snapshot,” Evans said after giving the actress a kiss on the lips.
I love this pairing so much! Keke and Sean have a lot of chemistry. Sean was on Keke’s podcast in late May, and they were super flirty. Keke asked Sean who his first celebrity crush was, and he talked about how it was TLC’s Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes. Keke pointed out that she played Chilli on a VH1 show in 2013, and suggestively said that it was “close enough.” Keke’s mom also expressed how happy she’d be if the two of them potentially got together. I think it’s happening, and they’ve been seeing one another for longer than we’ve known about. I hope they’re able to stay under the radar. Keke has been through so much.
Photos are screenshots from HotOnes