Salt Bae is under fire from netizens over some recent social media shares.

In since deleted footage, Turkish chef Nusret Gökçe,(or Salt Bae to his millions of internet fans) can be seen serving Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.

Venezula is currently in the middle of a democratic crisis and his leadership is recognised by some as a dictatorship. Maduro has held power since 2013.

The video that’s gone viral

Salt Bae even gifted Maudro a t-shirt

Recommended

A Dubai Restaurant Is Charging AED 1,000 For Pineapple Pizza As A Statement Against ItA Woman Had 90kg Of The Viral Dubai Chocolate Seized At A German Airport9 Changes To Expect In The UAE In 2025

US politician Marco Rubio was the first to criticise the footage

#Salt Bae @nusr_ett⁩ deleted the tweet with the video of him lavishing dictator Maduro with a steak dinner while the people of #Venezuela starve. Fortunately @miamiherald downloaded it before he deleted it. Watch here:https://t.co/AC9qkFWyOw

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) September 18, 2018

Nicolás Maduro was returning from a state trip to China when he stopped over in Turkey and visited the famous restaurant

Part of the Venezuelan population are without food, the economy is in crisis. The visit caused online consternation that the president chose to enjoy a ‘lavish’ meal at the famed restaurant.

Maduro wants to talk about visit to #China but the suffering people of #Venezuela want to talk about his lavish dinner at Salt Bae’s restaurant. He has starved & oppressed 2.3 million people out of the country & another 1 million possible before years end https://t.co/VUTSuTCYAe

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) September 18, 2018

Despite the original footage being deleted, copies have been shared online and the reaction is the same across the board

The tweets were spotted before they were deleted

@nusr_ett, how much was the meal you served to the Venezuelan dictator and his thougs? Even though you have deleted them, we all saw the tweets you posted.

— Andrés Viver (@viver_andres) September 19, 2018

‘A shame’

A shame!!! Won’t never eat there anymore

— AleV (@alevergarduno) September 19, 2018

The mood

Salt Bae should feed the people of Venezuela, not the dictator who oppresses them Clueless Turkish chef Nusret Gökçe — known as Salt Bae for his theatric salting wrist twist — deserves every ounce of scorn he’s getting in Miami for courting Venezuelan … https://t.co/i8v5DDJlki pic.twitter.com/fa4lUewL9h

— U.S. Reality Check???? (@USRealityCheck) September 19, 2018

Some are calling to boycott the chef

boycott #saltbae #nusr_et you don’t feed dictators, he starves his country’s citizens to death…. shame on u

— amaliacaputo (@amaliacaputo) September 18, 2018

The topic is trending and the chef who found fame through internet virality is now on the receiving end of a media storm

Salt bae is cancelled

— Marianella Mancini (@Marianella_16) September 18, 2018

All is not lost: Some are suggesting the chef take some positive PR actions

That said, if Salt Bae has even half a brain he should know this is really bad PR and should, like the article suggests, take a lesson from José Andrés and actually do some humanitarian work to make up for this.

— Glenn Magus Harvey (@GlennMHarvey) September 19, 2018

Get breaking news via WhatsApp: message ‘subscribe me’ to +971 52 302 3896