A clip of McDonalds CEO Christopher Kempczinski forcing himself to eat a Big Arch burger went viral on TikTok in February. Now, the CEO has spoken to the Wall Street Journal about the moment that saw him savagely mocked world wide.
In the new video, Kempczinski joins journalist Tim Higgins in a Maccas kitchen, sharing some chicken nuggets.
When asked if he has any advice to share for how to eat on camera, he good-naturedly responds.
“Well I’d say the biggest thing is just dive right in, so I’m looking forward to taking a nice bite out of this chicken nugget,” he says, gingerly moving a nugget to his mouth.
As he takes the plunge with a small bite, he unconvincingly says, “Mmm.”
Unfortunately, he looks no less reluctant to eat “the product” – as he called the Big Arch repeatedly in the first video – than he did previously, once again confirming he never, ever eats at Maccas.
Higgins notes it’s “weird” to watch each other eat, and Kempczinski laughingly responds, “Well, imagine how I felt.”
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Viral McDonalds CEO video
The clip of Kempczinski eating a Big Arch burger went viral on TikTok when it was spotted by musician and comedian Garron Noone.
“I’ve just seen a video of the McDonald’s CEO eating McDonald’s, and it’s probably the funniest f**king thing I’ve ever seen in my,” Noone says in a stitched clip.
The vision behind him is that of Kempczinski – a very neat and conservatively dressed man, sitting in front of a McDonald’s meal. “The Big Arch,” the CEO announces, proudly holding up the burger.
“This is something we have tested already – in Germany, Portugal, Canada.”
Noone ‘translates’: “We’ve tested it on the Germans and the Canadians, and now we believe it may even be fit for human consumption.”
McDonalds CEO tries a burger in viral clip. Image: TikTok
Kempczinski keeps referring to the meal as a “product” rather than a meal, leading Noone to surmise, “This man does not eat McDonalds. He looks like he would read the ingredients on the back of a banana.”
The well-intentioned CEO has obviously been asked by his social media department to film this taste test, and really, they should consider paying an actor next time.
As Noone says, watching Kempczinski fumble “the product” to get it into his mouth, “This man doesn’t even know how to fuc**g hold a burger, why did you let him on without any practice? He’d be less uncomfortable if he were holding the fu***g nuclear codes.”
We can’t show you Noone’s clip because it contains perhaps 50% profanity (from him, not the CEO). But here is a clip of the CEO insisting he consumes Maccas three times a week – which is only slightly less funny without Noone’s commentary:
@mcdonalds_corp Our #CEO is answering one of his most frequently asked questions. 👀 If you worked at #McDonalds, how often would you eat your favorite #menu ♬ original sound – McDonald’s Corporate
Top image: McDonalds CEO on Instagram