How Simon Cowell Convinced Gordon Ramsay To Have Plastic Surgery

It's no secret that Gordon Ramsey has had "some work" done. We don't know about you, but we liked Gordon Ramsay's untouched face just fine. They say a person's face is the roadmap of their life, and Ramsay's reflected the ups and downs of his, from a difficult childhood, to years on the soccer field, marriage, parenthood, and the hard work of building a successful restaurant empire and media career. If you ask us, each distinctive line was well-earned.

And besides, when shouting things like "Smell that!" and "This is most disgusting kitchen ever!" (via YouTube) you should look, well, disgusted, which is hard to pull off if your muscles have been paralyzed by injections.

Hollywood, land of nips, tucks and injections, was less impressed. In an ironic twist, Ramsay, often called out for bullying on Master Chef and Kitchen Nightmares (via The Independent), was, himself, bullied by entertainment executives over his rugged looks.

Esquire magazine, recounting a story from Radio Times, quoted Ramsay: "In LA it was all Oh my god, when did you go through the windscreen?" He continued: "You put up with it, but then you get f*ing sick of it." No kidding.

Ramsay eventually did decide to smooth out some of his wrinkles. However, it was not television executives who convinced Ramsay to do so. That inspiration came from closer to home. Ramsey said that in 2009 he had laser treatments as well as injections to plump the wrinkles in his chin after his children tried to insert coins in them (via The Daily Mail). His friend, media mogul Simon Cowell, no stranger to cosmetic procedures himself (via The Independent), also encouraged Ramsay to make his face more TV-friendly. Cowell "suggested that now I'm a success in America, I should do something," Ramsay said (Radio Times, via another Daily Mail report).

At the time, Ramsay told The Daily Mail that there would be no more cosmetic procedures. "Am I going to have any more work done? Of course I'm not going to have any more f***ing work done," he said. However, the star looked noticeably different at the 2016 Teen Choice Awards (via Nova FM) and again in 2021, when Ramsay's Instagram followers pointed out (via Esquire) that the star appeared a bit red and puffy. The comments were rough: "What happened to your face? Please stop with the botox," was one of gentler barbs.

If getting a little work done makes Gordon Ramsay feel better, that's great. But we also think one-liners like "Wake up, you donut!" (also on YouTube) require an expressive face.