Keith Lee Closes Sushi Bar After Seeing “Something Moving” In His Food

A popular sushi buffet bar has closed multiple locations after a viral Keith Lee video resulted in allegations of parasites being present in their food.

Lee, a popular food critic and former mixed martial artist, recently visited FOB Sushi Bar, a popular eatery in Seattle, WA., at his followers’ behest. Revealing that the restaurant had been “one of the most recommended places” since he and his wife had arrived in the Northwestern city, Lee gave FOB Sushi Bar a mostly positive review, aside from his mention that the rice he ordered was overcooked.

“They have over 30 different options, but the only thing for me is that I have a shellfish allergy, so most of the options that they had was fully contained with shellfish, but I still managed to get like 10 pieces,” Lee said in his customary clip on social media recapping his dining experience.

However, after the video was posted on Lee’s TikTok account, a number of users commented that they noticed something “move” on the sashimi piece Lee was holding up with his chopsticks, as if the item was alive or contained a parasite.

“Nah, that fish definitely moved at 1:50,” one person wrote, referencing the timestamp at which the alleged movement occurred. Others echoed those sentiments, leading to various users weighing in on the video and voicing their concern that Lee could potentially fall ill due to the alleged contamination.

Amid the growing speculation, FOB Sushi Bar’s owner released a statement thanking Lee for patroning his establishment, but reasoned that the alleged movement of Lee’s food was actually due to natural physics and him touching the food himself.

“We were honored to recently welcome Keith Lee to FOB Sushi and are incredibly grateful for his visit and the support from everyone who has stopped by,” read FOB Sushi Bar’s statement.

It continued, “Recently a video has been circulating online that claims worms were found in our sashimi. We want to address this claim directly and assure you that it is entirely false. Regarding the video, the movement observed in the fish may result from natural elasticity or the pressure of chopsticks when applied to its structure.”

Lee would later notify his followers that he was healthy and did not fall ill after eating at FOB Sushi Bar, admitting that he initially didn’t notice anything move on his plate until his followers brought it to his attention.

“Somebody slowed the video down and it did appear that something moved,” Lee said. “One thousand percent transparency, I didn’t see anything until somebody pointed it out.”

He avoided confirming or denying whether his food was contaminated, but criticized FOB Sushi Bar’s owner for insinuating that he caused the food to move due to the manner in which he prodded the food with his chopsticks.

“I can’t confirm or deny what it was,” Lee added. “But I can confirm I am OK. I appreciate the people who actually did reach out and was worried about me. I’m alright.”

He continued, “For the restaurant to post a statement indicating that me holding the sushi or chopsticks a certain way is why the sushi moved, I personally don’t agree with it.”

Amid the backlash, FOB Sushi Bar would close two of its locations, one in Seattle and another in Bellevue, due to “food safety concerns.”

“Your health and safety are our highest priorities. We are conducting a thorough investigation to address the situation and will take all necessary measures to prevent it from happening again,” the FOB Sushi Team wrote.

See Keith Lee’s TikTok video below.