McDonald’s CEO Insists He Eats There ‘3–4 Times’ Weekly After Viral Video Shows Him Hesitating Over His Own Burger
McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski did not expect a burger video to become the week’s biggest corporate story. He picked up a Big Arch, said “Holy cow,” took what looked like the world’s most reluctant bite, and posted it online. Within days, the clip had been mocked, remixed, and screen-grabbed by millions of people who had one simple question: does this man actually eat his own food?
He Called It a ‘Product.’ That Was the First Problem
The video went up on Instagram on February 3. Kempczinski was promoting the Big Arch, a new double-patty burger with white cheddar, crispy onions, pickles, and a signature sauce. He described it as a “product” no fewer than three times. He never called it delicious. He never called it a meal. He looked, to put it plainly, like a man eating something for the first time.
A Comedian Said What Everyone Was Thinking
Irish comedian Garron Noone posted a TikTok stitch with a simple caption: “This man does not eat McDonald’s.” It got more than 10 million views. The original clip crossed 4.5 million views on Kempczinski’s own account. Comments ranged from gentle ribbing to full-on roasting. “He looked like he’d never met a burger before,” one person wrote.
The Word ‘Product’ Set Off Its Own Debate
People kept coming back to the language. “It scares me when you call food ‘product,'” one commenter wrote. Another replied: “That’s a nice-looking product. I’ll take two units, please.” For critics, it wasn’t just awkward phrasing. It read as the kind of distance that comes from not actually spending much time on the customer side of the counter.
He’d Already Answered This
Here’s the thing: months before the clip went viral, Kempczinski had posted a video saying exactly how often he eats at McDonald’s. “I would tell you it’s a lot, probably three or four times a week,” he said. “Sometimes breakfast, sometimes lunch.” That October 2025 clip resurfaced fast. Some people found it reassuring. Others found a man who eats fast food 150-plus times a year equally hard to believe.
Burger King and Wendy’s Were Ready
Burger King’s North America president, Tom Curtis, posted a video of himself taking a full, sauce-on-the-hands bite of a Whopper on the same day the Big Arch launched in the U.S. The brand’s comment on Kempczinski’s original post, “we couldn’t finish it either”, got close to 71,000 likes. Wendy’s ran the same play, posting its own president eating a Baconator. The fast food industry, apparently, has receipts.
McDonald’s Made Fun of Itself
Rather than go dark, McDonald’s own social team posted an image with the line: “Take a bite of our new product.” Below it: “Can’t believe this got approved.” A spokesperson later told Fortune that Big Arch sales were beating expectations. Kempczinski’s Instagram following grew by 30 percent. Bad press, good numbers.
Being Real Online Is Harder Than It Looks
Kempczinski had spent years trying to seem approachable on social media: posting taste tests, career advice, behind-the-scenes videos. The strategy made sense on paper. But it also meant that when one clip felt off, there was a large, practiced audience ready to call it out. Being visible as a CEO is useful until it isn’t.
Not Everyone Thought He Was Wrong to Show Up
Some people pushed back on the pile-on. “At least he’s honest and eating the product he’s selling,” one supporter wrote online. Others noted that any executive willing to stand in front of a camera and promote something personally is doing more than most. The counter-argument: promoting your own food shouldn’t require convincing.
The Burger Sold
The Big Arch is moving units. Kempczinski has more followers than he did before. And the clip, for all the grief it caused, probably did more for the sandwich’s visibility than a traditional ad campaign would have. None of that was the plan. But somewhere in Chicago, the McDonald’s CEO is presumably eating lunch. Three or four times a week, give or take.
