Famed hot-dog eater Takeru “The Tsunami” Kobayashi said yesterday he stormed the stage at Nathan’s annual Fourth of July contest in Coney Island for one reason: He didn’t want to be taken for a wiener.
“Everyone kept chanting ‘Let him eat! Let him eat!’ — so I jumped on stage to prove to myself that I was still the champ, but I was arrested,” Kobayashi said yesterday through an interpreter after his morning arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court.
Kobayashi was busted after running up to the stage during the event, in which he was not participating due to a contract dispute.
He insisted he didn’t set out to ruin the contest, which was won by his arch rival, Joey Chestnut, who downed 54 dogs in 10 minutes.
“I went as a spectator to cheer on my buddies that I used to eat with,” Kobayashi said.
When the crowd starting egging him on to join in, The Tsunami said, it was simply a case of him taking the bait.
But one skeptical source, noting that Kobayashi doesn’t speak English, questioned how he understood the chants.
The source added that the shouts of “Let him eat!” started well after Kobayashi ran to the stage.
Sporting a “Free Kobi” T-shirt after spending the night in custody, the former champ — who won the Nathan’s contest six years in a row before his streak ended in 2007 — even complained about the food in jail.
“I am very hungry! In jail, they gave me a [peanut butter and jelly] sandwich and milk. I wish they had hot dogs in jail,” he said.
But he had some nice things to say about his cellmates.
“They were very kind,” he told The Post later. “They showed me how to use a toilet paper roll as a pillow. It had been a long time since I slept so well.”
Kobayashi has until his Aug. 5 court date to chew on charges of resisting arrest, trespassing, obstruction of governmental administration and disorderly conduct.
Kobayashi clung to a fence as police tried to collar him amid the throng of onlookers.
He said he was startled because “the police grabbed me from behind. As soon as I realized, I let go.”
His lawyer, Mario Romano, said Kobayashi had been invited up to the stage. “Nathan’s security people were calling him by name and taking pictures with him,” Romano said, insisting that one worker gestured for him to hop onto the platform.
“He wanted to eat quickly and publicly. He wanted to compete,” Romano said.
But Chestnut, who retained his Mustard Yellow Belt on Sunday, said Kobayashi’s tale is baloney.
“I know he thinks he’s entitled to privileges, but he’s lost three years in a row,” said Chestnut, who added he believes Kobayashi just couldn’t bear a fourth straight loss to him.
Lamented Major League Eating Chairman George Shea: “Who knows what his thought process was? He was a great champion.”
Additional reporting by Jeremy Olshan