Why These 11 Celebs Are Big Fans of Slutty Vegans

Aisha “Pinky” Cole, owner and operator of Slutty Vegan, has a celebrity following That’s no surprise, considering her knack for creating dishes loved by vegans, carnivores and everyone in between. The former-food-truck-turned-chain won the hearts of stars in its early days, with Snoop Dogg, Tyler Perry and others praising its huge vegan burgers.

Cole opened the first brick-and-mortar version of the vegan fast-food joint in Atlanta in January 2019. Slutty Vegan has since multiplied, with locations across Georgia, one in Alabama, and recently opened spots in Brooklyn and Harlem, New York.

Slutty Vegan Legacy

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who follows a plant-based diet, praised the expansion of restaurants in the Big Apple in a video. “Anyone who knows me knows I love to eat healthy and plant-based. We love our brothers and sisters in Atlanta but it’s about time you brought your vegan burger here to the greatest city in the world,” he said.

Cole isn’t stopping with NYC—he plans to open 20 new restaurants by the end of 2023.

Slutty Vegan

There’s no doubt that Cole’s provocatively-named vegan burgers — like the Hux Boy and the Fussy Hussey — have catapulted the Slutty Vegan into the stratosphere of fame. Her success came alongside collaborations with Steve Madden and The Lip Bar, an advisory role for DoorDash, and a cookbook.

But, Cole’s philanthropy has also boosted his celebrity status. Her charity, the Pinky Cole Foundation, focuses on supporting young black entrepreneurs. In 2019, he helped pay the tuition of 30 Clark Atlanta University students. And in 2022, he gifted an LLC to each graduating student at Clark Atlanta University’s commencement ceremony. Even some celebrity fans got in on the action. Rapper Jermaine Dupri helped Cole with an initiative that rewarded voters with free vegan burgers.

Who are the celebrity fans of Slutty Vegan?

“Celebrity Chorus! They are just like us.” Here are some of the celebrity fans of Slutty Vegan.

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1 usher

In the early days of Slutty Vegan in 2019, Usher sang the fast-food joint’s praises. The Grammy Award-winning rapper—who started his music career in Atlanta—went to the restaurant to try the Ménaze à Troyes burger, which features vegan bacon, vegan shrimp, vegan cheese, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato and a patty. His signature sauce on a Hawaiian bun.

“I’m feeling restless, here we go,” Usher said in a video shared across Slutty Vegan’s social media platform. “It’s good.”

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2 Viola Davis

Academy Award-winning actor Viola Davis is one of Slutty Vegan’s biggest celebrity fans. The star of the epic historical drama Woman is king The restaurant first caught wind of the food truck days. He was such a fan, that he booked the truck for catering during filming, Per Summary.

“We were in an epidemic where we were watching George Floyd, Ahmad Arberry and Breonna Taylor on loop,” Davis told the magazine. “And it was a constant reminder that we were, and are, the remnant in this country. It’s amazing how people come into life when they’re taken care of, when they’re thought of in literally any way—their health, their happiness, their comfort. And perhaps his company’s secret sauce, aside from the absolutely great food, is that he cares about his people.”

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3 Snoop Dogg

It’s safe to say that Snoop Dogg is a fan of vegan food, considering his history promoting Beyond Meat. However, she is one of Slutty Vegan’s true celebrity fans. A in 2019 video, he was captured while frying—we assume he’s already demolished the burger. While Snoop Dogg didn’t have much to say, he did give the cashier an enthusiastic thumbs-up—we agree, Snoop.

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4 Spike Lee

Filmmaker Spike Lee was photographed at the recent opening of Slutty Vegan in Brooklyn. “We think it’s safe to say @officialSpikeLee knows how to ‘do the right thing!'” the restaurant captioned the photo of the director, screenwriter and producer.

5 Shaquille O’Neal

This past spring, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal candidly shared that he was cutting back on his meat consumption. And, she finds that Sluti Vegan satisfies her cravings for the kinds of foods she wants to eat.

In an episode of the show Urban eats and treats Hosted by comedian Rip Michaels, Shaq said, “It’s not that I’m going vegan. My friend introduced me to this place and it is healthy. For example, I like cheeseburgers, right? But the way [Cole] By cooking it, I can eat healthy, but still feel like I’m eating poorly.”

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6 Lena Waithe

Award-winning actor, screenwriter and producer is another celebrity fan of Slutty Vegan. Waithe’s love of Cole’s super-stacked burgers returns in 2018. “That’s good,” Weath commented between bites.

Slutty Vegan captioned the video, “Safe to say @lenawaithe is #SLUTTIFIED.”

True to Cole’s charitable nature, he and Waithe—along with actor Gabrielle Union, former NBA All-Star Dwyane Wade, singer Janelle Monae and rapper Ludacris—helped pay for the funeral of a 15-year-old who died after being targeted by anti-gay bullies. .

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7 Tyler Perry

Comedian Tyler Perry is a particularly vocal fan of Slutty Vegans. Perry was captured on video sampling fast-food munchies in 2018, when the sultry vegan was still in her food truck days. “It’s safe to say mom, we made it,” Slute captioned the Instagram post featuring the vegan entertainer.

“It’s so good to be vegan. It’s really good,” she said before a dance. Good food makes us feel that way, too.

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8 Gabriel Union

In June 2020, actor Gabrielle Union was among several stars who “bought” Slutty Vegan for the day as a thank you to Cole’s philanthropic efforts. The result? Free food for visitors all day.

“Such great food and really great people!! We’re happy to help. Hate will never win #WeAllWeGot #StrongerTogether,” Union said. Tweet in time

The hashtags are a nod to the backlash that followed Cole’s announcement that he would pay the college tuition fees of the four children of Rayshard Brooks, the 27-year-old black man who was fatally shot by Atlanta police in June 2020. Cole’s business, with negative online reviews, is garnering support from celebrities and non-celebrities alike.

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9 Chris Paul

NBA All-Star Chris Paul is another celebrity who helped create free slutty vegan meals for a day in 2020. But, in June 2021, in honor of Juneteenth, he announced that free food was back on the menu.

“In the spirit of Juneteenth, I’m honored to support a black-owned business while dedicating resources to feed the community,” Paul said at the time. “Let’s celebrate this Saturday.”

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10 Ludacris

Ludacris first started rapping in Atlanta, so it’s no surprise that the Grammy-award winning rapper would show Slutty Vegan some love. The “Money Maker” rapper helped make Slutty Vegan food free for visitors in Atlanta in 2020.

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11 Jermaine Dupree

As mentioned above, Dupree played a role in Cole’s initiative to encourage Atlanta locals to exercise their voting rights. The music mogul’s love for slutty vegan and charitable endeavors is still going strong. Last summer, Dupree personally delivered food that the restaurant provided during People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) annual Congressional Veggie Dog Lunch event on Capitol Hill.

Not all of them are fans of slutty vegans. According to several press releases, the restaurant’s famous patrons have included multihyphenates Colin Kaepernick, Queen Latifah, Will Smith, Tiffany Haddish, Martin Lawrence, Taraji P. Henson, Justin Timberlake, Missy Elliott and more. In addition to earning the love of New York City’s own Mayor Adams, Sluti Vegan has also gained a political following from Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff.