Remember Salt Bae? Surely everyone knows that mesmerizing salt-sprinkling video that went viral a few years ago. Bruno Mars shared it once, it exploded, and from then on Salt Bae became an internet icon, flying private jets, taking photos with DiCaprio, Beckham, living like a star.

But… who would have guessed that just a few years later, everything would turn upside down. His restaurant empire is now shaky, losing up to 5.4 million pounds, with 7 steak outlets down to just 2, and all accusations coming from former employees.

Salt Bae’s story is actually quite typical — from an ordinary chef in Turkey, a poor family, dropping out early, to suddenly performing a seductive steak-cutting move in a 36-second video. That move — knees bent, hand raised, salt falling along the arm — it really has something magical. The video was shared wildly, from a few thousand views to over 2.4 million, then kept climbing.

Thanks to that craze, Salt Bae went from a small restaurant owner in Istanbul to a global sensation. A year later, he had opened 31 outlets worldwide — from New York, London, Dubai to beautiful islands. The steak prices? Extremely steep. In London, a 24-karat gold-wrapped steak costs 700 pounds, a gold-wrapped burger 100 pounds. In Dubai, a gold-dusted steak costs 1,250 dirhams (268 pounds). But people still line up because being personally served by Salt Bae cutting the meat is a privilege.

This fame also helped him amass tens of millions of pounds, owning two Rolls-Royces, a private jet, a speedboat, and living a glamorous Hollywood lifestyle. He even once flew a private plane just to have a high-end meat meal in Dubai.

But from 2023 onwards, everything started to fall apart. Customers complained that despite paying 500 pounds, Salt Bae still cut meat while wearing headphones talking to someone else. Lawsuits from staff followed: instant dismissals over minor issues, unpaid wages, tip reductions.

An anonymous female employee revealed that the working environment was “very stressful,” long hours were normal, even drinking water or going to the bathroom was monitored. Salt Bae was described as “hostile and threatening,” demanding strange things like foot massages during dinner service, and meeting other women after hours as if he were a star.

Moreover, that expensive steak was exposed as “a marketing scam” — just cheap edible gold coating, sold for a few hundred pounds more.

There was a lawsuit in New York from a bartender accusing him of sexual harassment, though it later settled privately, but the toxic work culture couldn’t be hidden.

Salt Bae’s relationship with a notorious boastful tycoon also became a negative label when that person’s sex crime case shocked the public. He had invited Salt Bae to cook at his villa, attended New Year’s parties in Miami.

To maintain his fame, Salt Bae occasionally did controversial stunts. Especially the incident at the 2022 World Cup, where he stormed the field, hugged Messi, kissed the trophy, and disrupted the celebration. FIFA investigated, he apologized claiming he was “overwhelmed by excitement,” but netizens didn’t buy it, criticizing him for trying to attract attention.

Salt Bae’s story teaches us a lesson: in the age of social media, success can come very quickly, but when the glamour fades, if there’s no solid foundation, the fall can be even faster. And that’s exactly what’s happening to Salt Bae right now.