McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski blamed his mom’s parenting for his tiny bite and now-viral reaction to trying the fast food chain’s new Big Arch Burger
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The CEO recalled finding out about his viral moment from his kids before receiving an influx of calls, emails and texts
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“I’m definitely not a vegetarian,” he quipped while responding to a theory about his reaction to tasting the burger
The CEO of McDonald’s is blaming his mother for his viral reaction to trying the newBig Arch Burger.
In an interview withThe Wall Street Journalshared on Instagram on Monday, April 6,Chris Kempczinskirevealed why he took such a small and seemingly awkward bite while trying one of the fast food chain’s new menu items in anow-viral videothat he posted on Feb. 3.
“I’m definitely not a vegetarian,” the CEO quipped while responding to some of the theories surrounding his reaction to tasting the burger. “I blame it all on my mom because she told me, ‘Don’t talk with your mouth full.’ ”
“I think probably, in that case, I should have just said, ‘You know what? To hell with it, I’m gonna go talk with my mouth full.’ ”
As for why the CEO’s taste test went so viral? Many commenters claimed that Kempczinski’s reaction to tasting the burger — including saying “I love this product” — seemed to indicate that he was “acting” for the video while not actually enjoying the tiny bite he took of the burger.
“Not a single calorie was consumed in this video,” one user wrote in the comments, while another added, “Is the BIG BITE in the room with us??”
After the Feb. 3 video went viral, Kempczinski toldTheWall Street Journalthat he learned of his newfound social media fame when his kids called him and said, “Dad, you’ve gone viral — and not in a good way.”
“That’s when I knew, ‘Okay, something’s going on,’ ” he recalled. “And then I started getting texts and emails and calls. Invariably, they were all like ‘Hey, have you seen this?’ And it’s like, by the thousandth time, ‘Yeah, I’ve seen it.’ ”
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Although the response to his promotional video wasn’t all positive, Kempczinski said he was happy that people were “talking about the Big Arch” nonetheless.
“I think when you go on to social media in general you have to have a thick skin,” he added.
Beyond reactions from both fans and critics, other fast food chains — includingBurger Kingand Wendy’s — were quick to take advantage of Kempczinski’s viral moment.
On March 2, Tom Curtis, the president of Burger King U.S. & Canada, got his own viral moment when he shared avideoof himself taking an enthusiastic bite of a Whopper.
“Thought we’d replay this,” the brand wrote in the caption.
Commenters were quick to make the connection between the two videos, writing, “Now compare this to the McDonald’s CEO.”
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