Cliff Gets Disqualified For Trying to Shave Marcel's Hair | Top Chef: Los Angeles

Cliff, Elia, Ilan and Sam got drunk and decided to forcibly shave Marcel's head. Cliff approached a sleeping Marcel and wrestled him to the ground. Marcel freed himself from Cliff's hold and slept in a bathroom. Ilan videotaped the incident with a video camera borrowed from production and could be heard in the recording encouraging the other contestants to use the clippers on Marcel. The next day, Cliff was disqualified from the competition, as the show's rules explicitly forbid contestants from touching one another in an aggressive manner.
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Clip taken from season 02, episode 11, Top Chef: Los Angeles
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[@CharlieKay92]

This was pretty bad.. but Marcel has said that til this day, Cliff is the only one who ever apologized to him. Not just for this, but his overall treatment on their season, which shocks me. They all were so mean to him. There's still absolutely no excuse for this, but seeing Marcel being the most successful person from this season, feels like karmic retribution.. And the only other successful person from this season being the one that took it too far but also the only one to genuinely apologize (according to Marcel) kinda supports that theory. This incident left a permanent bad taste in people's mouths about Cliff but knowing what Marcel has said since makes me feel less angry with him.

[@l-wolverine2211]

Yep, Cliff & Marcel are the only 2 Chefs to come out Successful from this Horrendous Season.

[@Harlem.Sweetie]

Cliff burst out like a phoenix rising from the flames. He landed on Food Network and is working on his third show with them. He also is a guest judge on Beat Bobby Flay. 🔥🔥🔥

[@xLAPPUINx]

Production played along.

[@iWantCorporalPunishment]

Damn...I remember people were saying online that season 2 was the messiest season of top Chef. Didn't realize how messy it was till I finished watching it 😅

[@knathanknathan]

If he wasn’t kicked off he wouldn’t ever had apologized.

[@henryblake6227]

Apparently after this incident Tom wanted to disqualify all the chefs involved and essentially let Marcel win by default but the studio fought him and only cliff was sent home.

[@theedspage]

Tom is correct; the studio is wrong.

[@June-tb4vi]

They all should have been sent homeThey all should have been sent home

[@IllHandleThis]

Assuming it’s true I can respect Tom for that

[@rrrrrr-kb9sb]

That’s actually untrue; that rumor was debunked twice

[@pathkeepers]

​@rrrrrr-kb9sb I just debunked your claim that it was debunked twice, three times.

[@aliciaburton6076]

This isn't just a prank. It's full on Assault and anyone involved in any way is just as guilty.

[@kennyjensen6530]

Honestly the way Ilan smiled at the judges was disrespectful. The lack of shame just shows.

[@jaymanuel3396]

And to add insult to injury, they crowned Ilan the winner! Disgusting.

[@l-wolverine2211]

Don’t worry, because Ilan became a Failure, losing 2 restaurants, and ending up running a franchised Ramen Shop, which is Pathetic.

[@princessbodacious]

bc marcel talks too much and is annoying 😋👍

[@sgtleobella]

​@@princessbodacious...both of which have no bearing on the quality of the food he cooks. Marcel was absolutely robbed.

[@princessbodacious]

@@sgtleobella idk he annoyed me lol also its a cooking show why r u so worked up

[@sgtleobella]

@@princessbodacious lol I'm not worked up at all

[@neldajackson360]

They're acting more like high school bullies, I so wanted Marcel to win the whole thing, instead of the biggest bully of the group. The only one who looked even a little remorseful was Cliff, the rest of them were pretty pleased with themselves

[@TheDollyce]

Cliff owned it, Too little, too late. This season was rife with hateful bullies! Ilan, Elia, Cliff, and Betty. These 4 chefs were disgraceful.

[@jaymanuel3396]

Don’t forget Sam, or whatever his name was. But he played off his hate and bullying, in a more sympathetic way, cause he was sneaky.

[@dianastephany3162]

I agree 100%

[@ericjohnson9929]

Tom wanted to kick the other 3 off, but Bravo said they needed to finish the show.

[@frankieseward8667]

@@ericjohnson9929 and that passed off alot of people. No amount of PR can save this season.

[@TheDollyce]

@@frankieseward8667 It sure did! It's the only season of Top Chef that I can't bear to watch again. I had no respect whatsoever for the winner, Ilan Hall. His mean behavior was very off-putting. Totally unprofessional. We want to love our winners! Like Richard Blaise, Stephanie Izard, Kristen Kish, Brooke Williamson, and Harold Dieterle! These professional chefs have gone on to have illustrious careers, both in the cooking world and TV cooking competition shows. People love them!

[@blackwidow9516]

At least Cliff apologized and owned it.

[@cheech41]

All 4 should have been disqualified

[@retroflashbackdude]

Tom wanted to disqualify all 4 which would’ve given Marcel the title of Top Chef by default. Plus Tom said at judges table that Cliff had the worst elimination challenge dish that week and would’ve been eliminated at judges table anyway.

[@matthewanzalone3919]

As much as I agree with you, getting the judges reactions were truly priceless

[@chrisparker7256]

Please keep in mind that despite the producers framing this falsely, Elia and Elan did NOT shave their heads until after Cliff attacked Marcel. The original airing included Elia laughing about the attack with a full head of hair. That has since been cut from the episode. They shaved their heads in an attempt to excuse their behavior as just wanting Marcel to participate in a bonding activity. Cliff was rightfully booted but Elan should have been too since he filmed the entire attack and egged Cliff on. There's also no doubt at all that Elan would have helped Cliff physically had Sam or Elia been the one with the camera.

[@lindathompson3982]

A 'bonding' activity?? Yeah, I heard that phrase in there somewhere. Truth is, they ALL hated/resented Marcel...They wanted nothing to do with him...Sorry- -but this was malice. No matter how this entire incident might be dressed up, there was still nothing right about what happened. You are so right.

[@avalangrin4904]

Ilan is a sociopath and manipulated that attack on Marcel. You can see that Ilan was egging Cliff on and calling for Sam and Elia to shave Marcel’s head. I hated season 2 because there were some terrible individuals on that season. I especially disliked Ilan who I feel is a mediocre chef that was intimidated by Marcel and with his hostile clique tried to throw Marcel off his game with antics like the hair shaving incident. Marcel certainly was not perfect, but he didn’t deserve the treatment he received during Season 2. 🤨🤨🤨

[@dstroma]

Ilan won by copying recipes from Casa Mono. It's not against the rules but is unethical.

[@marlandbell]

Ilan was just as guilty. It was obvious that michael And sam sabotaged marcel in the final

[@technewsfortechnoobs]

I think Marcel's last words in this clip just spoke VOLUMES...."No apology necessary from YOU." Cliff was the bigger man and owned up to what he did like a champ, and his reputation and this incident was put behind him. Just look at him now....several shows on Food Network, was on Worst Cooks in America, judge on Beat Bobby Flay and Chopped Junior, was on Tournament of Champions..... The guy earned the spot in life he has now.

[@rookandpawn]

I'm new to top Chef and we binged season 10 through season 20. I can't imagine this ever happening and I'm so glad to never did again.

[@DeborahNijdam-q4n]

I watched season 2 for the first time tonight and actually ended up admiring Marcel. Glad to see life has turned out well for him.

[@dfa3366]

I’m glad they changed the format from early top chef seasons. It was half Big Brother.

[@watchreport]

I agree. It was early 2000’s and they didn’t know they wanted it to be yet. The last 4-5 seasons have really been great too, very talented chefs and all about the food. For many years I think they tried to brings on chefs who had attitudes to create drama, they eventually learned that a a real competition with amazing food being made was all that was needed. I still think they edit out any arguments or flare up’s from the house or stew room segments, no way all these strangers get along that well, but it does make for a better show overall.

[@dfa3366]

@@watchreportTom C wanted to kick off the other contestants and make Marcel the winner but of course the producers had the final say. In legal terms Marcel was assaulted. If this was done to a women...Top Chef would not be here today.

[@sergiopaz4918]

I remember this chapter. I really can't believe how much Marcel was teased. Simply Elia, Ilan and Sam are cowards. Sam is even the worst, putting himself on a victim level. Later, they sabotaged Marcel again with the "dish". I'm glad Padma and Tom kept their mouths shut. Today, Marcel is most recognized from that season.

[@kenyapressley6706]

paul mooney spoke of these types of wake-up calls. cliff just got his

[@michelleelmore5533]

Yes the fact they told cliff to do that and they didn’t was very telling and then he got sent home for it. I’m happy that at least Marcel said that afterwards Clifff was the one that apologized for his behavior not the others

[@avalangrin4904]

Yes Kenya yes. I bet most of the people in the comments don’t know what you are talking about. I do. ☺️ RIP Paul Mooney.

[@ajitkirpekar4251]

If you watched the season, cliff was actually a fairly moderate, well meaning guy. The fact that it devolved into this is an example of just how things can spiral from group bullying and group think. And also a reminder. Let's be honest...the world is not full of heroes. People need to be tough and resilient because others will run over you when given the chance.

[@Salutations26]

This stuff happens all the time in dorms or where copious amounts of alcohol are available.

[@Salutations26]

@@cold_take where did you read that?

[@rickyray2794]

@@cold_take She never said it was okay, what are you on about?

[@magicalgold010]

Marcel should've won. It was clear that Sam and Mike sabotaged him

[@eduardocastillo1489]

I Love Gail and Padma's Reactions

[@scorpio1019]

They should of gave the title to Marcel because of this

[@frankieseward8667]

The fact Cliff was likely to go home anyway made this moot. The producers really had no idea how bad this was getting. If they did, they would've delayed this season big time.

[@michelleelmore5533]

Honestly they all should’ve been sent home Marcel win by default.

[@bleachiniac]

Not only Cliff,the rest also should have been eliminated! I can't believe something like this could happen..they are all cowards!

[@victoriaalvarez762]

Yes they should of been kicked out

[@mattliechty1269]

Wow, Top Chef Junior has really improved from this first season.

[@angelareyna5488]

😂😂😂

[@ronhanisco8697]

He didn't touch him in an aggressive manner. It was assault.

[@mike-pg5ux]

The bar for assault is actually lower lol

[@gregkosinski2303]

Battery actually. Assault is threatening harm and battery is unlawful physical contact.

[@xLAPPUINx]

Cliff maned up. The rest did not. I'm sure it has deviated their careers.

[@cynthialopez3426]

They were intimidated by Marcels talent and originality.

[@victoriamcgrath1867]

The blog below was written by Tom Colicchio, after the incident. Great reading

[@28chart]

Hoping there's redemption for Marcel and there would be a reunion same with other season where to they get to reflect what happened with this season. Marcel is the true winner for me. ❤

[@RochellB46]

At least Cliff handled it with grace and felt bad he apologized and wished him nothing but the best

[@bridgetd0317]

I just started watching Top Chef. I thought Tiffani in Season 1 was bad, but she looks like an angel compared to this crowd. So many hateful bullies, it’s really disgusting. Seeing Marcel picked on by everyone from crazy Betty to these four is absolutely painful to watch.

[@frankadams605]

Cliff turn out to have a great restaurants and doing great and training lots of other top shefs.

[@riac5388]

The incident reminded me of a scene from a prison movie. I was surprised there were no criminal charges. Apparently, Cliff has been on other cooking shows after this which baffles me.

[@nikhilcruz]

It’s surprising but I guess he’s paid his dues now. Hopefully he has matured since then but I’m never watching anything with him on, I have completely avoided all videos of the latest season of Worst Chefs because of him.

[@l-wolverine2211]

@@nikhilcruz NOGAF, because Cliff redeemed himself, and is Successful. For you to sound that Hateful, you’re as Evil as Ilan & Elia.

[@Salutations26]

He apologized and one incident doesn’t define a person. Calm down.

[@Rae-xd2yb]

I dont think its surprising at all. after all, cliff was a pretty nice and mellow guy up till this, and Marcel has since said Cliff was the only one of the cast to ever apologise

[@Jecht1221]

Marcel was my favorite and he's the reason I watched top chef.

[@l-wolverine2211]

Hence why Top Chef: L.A. is still considered the WORST Season EVER!!!!! At least Cliff apologized to Marcel, which is something that no one else, not even Sam did, and hence all the Bullies are FAILURES, compared to Marcel & Cliff.

[@tsukie11]

If Harold had been on that season, he would have put a stop to all the BS.

[@l-wolverine2211]

@@tsukie11 Regardless, Harold has already proven that he was so much better than Everyone from Season 2

[@tsukie11]

@@l-wolverine2211 no argument there. Harold was a great guy and great chef. On the other hand, Ilan and Elia were pretty awful people and Ilan did not deserve to win. Sam should have won.

[@deatricelewellyan9572]

Being a bystander is just as bad

[@thegnshut9922]

I know guys like Cliff who grew up with other guys wrestling and often getting physical as a means of having fun. It's unfortunate but not everyone had the same upbringing.

[@dolphinswilltakeover]

Right it looked like a frat boy type of situation and no one was laughing, very uncomfortable watching this.

[@SadeWithTheReceipts]

I agree and saw many comments saying that opposite. I figured he didn't mean to "assault" him or be "aggressive". Like WE literally play like this where I am from. BLACK AND WHITE! FEMALE AND MALE! So yeah he knew the rules, but in his mind he probably thought, ok well this isn't aggressive, we're just horse playing around. Smh!

[@SterlingFogg]

It wasn't just "play wrestling." They were going to SHAVE THE MAN'S HEAD! And, even if YOU see it as "playing around" Marcel surely didn't! This wasn't "frat boy behavior." Marcel wasn't a pledge. This was actually a physical assault!

[@tjmcdermott2665]

Marcel should had won

[@bigwook7047]

This is the reason why I don't watch any of Cliff's stuff on the Food Network today.... I'm surprised they let him back on after this

[@SankofaNYC]

The earlier Top Chefs had a lot of drama and backstabbing and things like that… they were set up like a real reality show and the cooking competition was just a extra part lol… they seem to have totally left that behind

[@catherinecangiano9231]

Yes, this was a culmination of them and other cooks from this season mobbing and bullying Marcel. The episode before this one, Cliff was saying he wanted to punch Marcel in the face. They all egged each other on since the very beginning.

[@catherinecangiano9231]

And in the next episode was more mobbing when elia and ilan accused him of cheating. Bizarre...

[@brionpriest6735]

Tom wanted to eliminate every one expect Marcel which would have made him the winner by default.

[@hiimpaul9614]

They are so proud of shaving their heads that one is wearing a wig and the other a bandana

[@dianastephany3162]

Marcel should have won.

[@nataliemscrzysxycoolharris]

He owned it 💯

[@l-wolverine2211]

@Miss Wellness You haven’t watch the Food Network recently, have ya?! Cliff has been a mentor on Worst Cooks in America, which his team Won, and is now the host of Chef Boot Camp. Not to mention he was featured in a few episodes of HK. Cliff has Redeemed himself, and rightfully so

[@randyhall5540]

The guy who instigated this ( glasses guy) should be gone

[@bronwynsmith5704]

Ellie was the worst offender. They all s hould have been kicked out. Marcel still to this day is made fun of and abused by all on the Food Channel. He should sue.

[@VirgoThruAndThru]

I think Cliff is currently on a Food network show.

[@rickyray2794]

Why on earth was everybody so against this dude?

[@mightymitch5930]

They should’ve let Tom have his way and get rid of all four of the offending chefs. Is Marcel annoying, yes he is. Deal with it.

[@EclipseHighroller]

The ironic bit is that Marcel became worlds more successful than anyone on this season, without having to win

[@ItsAaronsaccount05]

Oml, this season is much worst than I remember, Marcel deserved better

[@reneerobinson3559]

Posting this after the Will Smith situation?🤔

[@dianastephany3162]

Cliff got what he deserved! Pure and simple. Imagine being in Marcels shoes.

[@l-wolverine2211]

Cliff apologized, and redeemed himself. Unlike all the other Bullies, Cliff is a Celebrity Chef, along with Marcel, because he Apologized.

[@knathanknathan]

@@l-wolverine2211 he was forced to apologized

[@l-wolverine2211]

@@knathanknathan No he wasn’t. Cliff was a Professional, unlike the others who deserved to be DISGRACED

[@deanna8699]

100%bully there.

[@brandonisner5214]

It shows how feelings toward someone or a group of someones can build over time, ultimately affecting those who otherwise didn't even harbor those feelings. Betty was the biggest @ss, and that other jackazz who got kicked off earler were the ringleaders.

[@kennethpaulsen5407]

he should press charges, i think this is not first time cliff does something like this.

[@Rae-xd2yb]

actually this was the only time on the show that I've seen that cliff acted out of character, and marcel himself came out to say that cliff was the only one who ever apologised

[@kennethpaulsen5407]

@@Rae-xd2yb yes but still he broke the rules of the show.

[@YouOnlyIiveTwice]

Ilan never should have won this season. Glad that even after getting the fame from the show and money/deals by winning it, his restaurants still failed.

[@Arieszona48]

Ilan should have been let go too. And Sam just sitting there letting it happen.

[@jsin14419]

So who was filming? They should of been let go too since, according to the judges, some one should of stopped the incident. The guy just filmed and did nothing. Marcel had to have ran out and told someone from the show in which they had to get camera and watch the footage. Otherwise no one would of known until after the show was filmed.

[@NEAmarillo79107]

This was pretty bad they all should have been sent home for this except for Marcel the problem with season 2 was Ella and Sam and Illan and a few others

[@tylerrew6476]

So what was their problem with Marcel? Was he that annoying ?

[@Tassie85]

I think they thought him arrogant and annoying. He didn't fit in with the group which, apparently, is reason to assault and humiliate him.

[@riac5388]

I watched that season 2x, 2nd time focusing on the behavior toward Marcel. He was socially awkward and other contestants may have seen that as annoying. He was also a threat because he was innovative and the only chef that was practicing molecular gastronomy. That could have been seen as arrogant by the others. Somewhat early on, some of the contestants began to target him and others jumped on the bandwagon. It was like a mob mentality thing that continued and escalated into an extreme and unfortunate situation. Marcel did not deserve the treatment that he received. That was my take on it.

[@squeallymaniac]

No, they were all just immature and jealous. Marcel was better than all of them, and still is

[@jarthur5094]

Wow. Weird. Marcel was one of the most obnoxious arrogant contestants you all make out like he was a saint.

[@Steph-yz4tn]

Him being obnoxious does not excuse physical assault and bullying. I just re-watched this season, and the amount of bullying towards Marcel is appalling.

[@TheCelchi]

Ilan, Bettyand Sam did far worse than anything they accuse Marcel of doing Aladdin in particular was always instigating someone to try to get Marcel off the show Betty thanks her opinion wasn’t necessary to cause distress to Marcel. The guy was arrogant OK the guy was you know a show off OK but weren’t they all and Sam embarrassing Marcel like that in the middle of a store thinking it was all right to yell at him like that and Elia she instigated the whole hair shaving thing I never liked her eyes she was always a big baby. And the seventh one chef sacrificed herself for her she was disgusting and then they brought her back? Her I’ve got back from our saw this was bullying at its highest for no reason and Ilan again he had no business winning top chef a mediocre chef who got lucky. He had no creativity nothing. What a mess that was. But he was far worse than Marcel was instigating and lying and accusing Marceau cheating when he didn’t an area pay attention to your cooking don’t blame everybody else for your shortfalls and not watching what your pots are doing they were disgusting and the chef judges were jerks to they should’ve stopped at bullying right away

[@Charlotte-kv7bk]

Cliff now works for Gordon Ramsay

[@ajthetruth2051]

That was a childish sucker move

[@sazmanmusic]

Tom wanted to disqualified everyone and crowned Marcel the winner by default but the producers didnt want it as if would create a sort of an anti climactic event. That being said can you imagine what would happen if that is the case? Or maybe bring back past participants and reshoot the whole thing (minus the disqualified ones)

[@myopiniondoesntmatterh9073]

I get their point, but Joan absolutely should have been eliminated as well because of the way he was encouraging Cliff to take it further. Just as bad as actually touching him, if you want to call what Cliff did touching. Ridiculous that they had contestants behaving like that.

[@myopiniondoesntmatterh9073]

Autocorrect. I meant Ilan.

[@Harlem.Sweetie]

This was drama to the utmost. I’m sure the producers were having field day on this. If it bleeds, it leads.

[@Arieszona48]

I never liked Ilan and still don’t. He’s an entitled brat. He let someone else go down. Shame on the producers for not making them all leave.

[@Monty2289]

Insane Elia shaved her hair head. She's like underratedly hot and she ruins it.

[@michellewilliams1474]

Cliff was wrong! I just don't get the many people that think he wasn't.

[@797arell8]

These people are bullies.

[@hallejohn7063]

Just trying to think what possessed this man to possibly think in anyway that was okay. Especially as a black man, & black folks know you don’t wake no one out they sleep. That could have turned into a full on fight. Get off of him.

[@TheJwlasichuk]

There is nothing worse than working for a toxic chef.

[@chungyanwong7293]

7:50 If you notice at this part, you can tell that Sam did not 100% mean to harm Marcel

[@daricklapaglia4337]

I mean he obviously couldve done it if he wanted to so idk why it was that big a deal lol its a bigger deal if he did it again

[@jermelhurst59]

They was wrong

[@atsega]

G.I Jane

[@asecretone]

Glad to see that the commenters here have never made a mistake in their life that they've been punished for and/or later regretted. Must be nice.

[@robertdennison2265]

Exactly!!

[@commonsense2156]

At least Top Chef used to have drama not its all boring blah

[@frankieseward8667]

I'd rather have boring blah than toxic environments. Cough cough "America's Next Top Model" cough cough.

[@squeallymaniac]

🚮 Cliff 🚮

[@CatMommy29]

Worst season

[@brendasuelong-bryant3855]

Whatever!

[@cwjalexx]

This was overblown. I don't think anyone watching actually thought they were going to forcibly shave marcel's head which I think can't be argued since you know...nobody actually shaved his head. Cliff went overboard with wrestling marcel.

[@deetoopretty6099]

Honestly, i didn't see it as an assault. I saw it as two men tussling around playing in a joking manner. I truly believe Cliff was ousted not just because he participated in a joke physically, but because he was the black guy that physically participated in a joke. All of the others participated and all thought it was fun and games until it was over. Idc idc but i truly saw this as a "if he had been a caucasian man" the same act would have been looked at as 2 men wrestling around playing. Nothing will make me see this any differently

[@jamesmahlon8520]

Blah blah blah blah blah stop acting like they murdered him s*** his hair didn't even get cut until the judge is to sit there with their little condescending attitudes. Why didn't you have security in the room to protect everybody? Not one of those chefs was there to play bodyguard for anybody. Joe got out of hands, not the end of the world but I guess we got all these woke people on this page. What a joke😂😂😂😂

[@missladyanonymity]

Poor taste to repost this. Let sleeping dogs lie.

[@7.5Mviews]

Everyone was a bully to Marcel this season.

[@thicclayer]

“We do have a competition here and we want it to be about food, so there’s a judges table tonight and we’ll see the four of you there.” 😐