Food Network star Darnell “SuperChef” Ferguson has been arrested in Louisville, Kentucky.
Ferguson, 36, was booked into the Louisville Metro jail on Tuesday, January 9, Us Weekly can confirm. He faces several charges including strangulation, terroristic threatening and burglary after being accused of illegally entering a woman’s house, strangling her and threatening to kill her, per ABC news affiliate WHAS11.
According to court documents obtained by WHAS11, the woman told authorities that she lost consciousness during the alleged strangulation. She claimed that when she regained consciousness, Ferguson ripped off her shorts and told her that she was his and no one else’s.
Ferguson pleaded not guilty in court on Wednesday, January 10, and his bond was set at $10,000. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for January 18.
Ferguson is known for his appearances on Food Network shows including Chopped, Supermarket Stakeout, Guy’s Grocery Games, Tournament of Champions and Worst Cooks in America. Season 2 of his show SuperChef Grudge Match premiered on the network in December 2023.
Prior to Ferguson’s arrest, his participation in a February 3 Louisville charity event was announced. According to LouisvilleKy.gov, Ferguson was one of three celebrity chefs scheduled to provide “world-class food” for the Blessings in a Backpack event. The organization helps feed local school-age kids on weekends.
Shortly after Ferguson’s arrest, the Louisville chapter of Blessings in a Backpack announced that he would no longer be part of the event.
“In response to recent charges, Blessings in a Backpack Louisville Chapter has taken immediate and decisive action to remove Darnell SuperChef Ferguson as the head chef for our upcoming Pack the Sack fundraiser,” an official statement shared via Facebook began. “We recognize the gravity of this situation and do not take this decision lightly. At Blessings in a Backpack Louisville Chapter, we firmly believe it is imperative to uphold the values and standards that define our organization and focus on our main priority – to feed hungry kids.”
Ferguson’s arrest on Tuesday is not his first run-in with law enforcement. He previously opened up about his experience selling drugs before he became a celebrity chef.
“I was just lazy,” he told the Tuscaloosa News of that period of his life in August 2020. “I wasn’t good at going to school and working.”
After getting arrested several times for dealing drugs, Ferguson realized he had become “everything they told you not to become in elementary school” and decided to “focus 100 percent” on cooking.
He went on to open his first restaurant, SuperChefs, in 2012. The eatery closed down in 2022 when the lease ended. Despite speculation that the restaurant would reopen in a different location, Ferguson told Louisville Business First in February 2023 that he had no plans to revamp SuperChefs.
“I’m fully focused on TV, right now,” he said. “I’m 100 percent on growing that empire on the TV station.”
Ferguson’s restaurant Superhero Chefs, which is located in Tuscumbia, Alabama, is still open for business. The dining establishment’s Facebook page describes it as “a superhero-themed restaurant that serves urban eclectic American cuisine for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”
