A viral social media post claims that McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski responded angrily to online criticism of a video showing him eating a McDonald’s burger. According to the post, Kempczinski allegedly wrote a long message on LinkedIn defending the way he took a bite of the burger and explaining why he referred to the food as a “product.” The same viral post also claims that Burger King’s official X account responded with a sarcastic comment mocking him.
The claim spread widely across platforms alongside the viral clip of Kempczinski eating the company’s new Big Arch burger, which had already drawn significant online attention. However, our investigation found that the viral text quotes attributed to both Kempczinski and Burger King are fabricated.
Social Media Posts
The viral claim typically includes two purported quotes. The first is attributed to Chris Kempczinski and is presented as a LinkedIn response to critics:
“You guys are dragging this way too far. I took a normal bite and somehow the internet turned it into ‘he didn’t even bite it.’ Everyone’s bite is different—not everybody needs to unhinge their jaw for the camera. Also, calling it a ‘product’ is normal… Relax. It was lunch, not a competitive eating contest.”
The same post then claims that Burger King’s official X account replied with another sarcastic message:
“Relax, Chris. Nobody asked you to unhinge your jaw! We just asked you to actually eat the burger… maybe the burger wasn’t the thing that was weak.”
Fact Check
McDonald’s and Burger King Responses
The Fact Crescendo team contacted McDonald’s and Burger King representatives to obtain official confirmation regarding the viral claims. A McDonald’s representative confirmed to us that the viral LinkedIn post was fake.
Similarly, Burger King’s PR team told us that the statement did not come from any official Burger King social media accounts and that it was fabricated and misattributed. Burger King also said it never issued any official text response to the viral McDonald’s video beyond the widely shared Whopper bite video by Tom Curtis.
The Original Viral Video and Online Reaction
The viral claim appears to stem from a real event. In early February 2026, McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski posted a promotional video in which he sampled the company’s new Big Arch burger, a large sandwich featuring two beef patties, white cheddar, crispy onions, and a signature sauce. The video showed him describing the burger and taking a relatively small bite while calling the sandwich a “product.”
The clip quickly went viral and drew widespread attention across social media. Many commenters noted that the bite appeared small and questioned the corporate language used to describe the food. Some media coverage described the video as overly formal for social media marketing.
For example, reporting in The Atlantic notes that Kempczinski described the Big Arch as a “product” and took what it characterized as a small bite, which some viewers viewed as an unusual choice for a promotional taste test. Similarly, The Guardian reported that the video prompted extensive commentary online, including remarks about the size of the bite and the corporate tone.
The clip’s viral spread helped fuel meme-driven sharing, which may have increased the circulation of fabricated follow-up quotes.
Despite the viral post claiming that Kempczinski defended himself on LinkedIn, there is no publicly available record of such a statement on his verified profile or in credible reporting. Searches of LinkedIn discussions referencing the video show commentary by other users analyzing the situation, but none include the alleged quote attributed to the CEO.
Major media outlets that covered the incident also do not report any public response from Kempczinski addressing the criticism. Coverage focuses on the original video and the resulting social media reaction.
What Burger King Actually Did
The viral post also claims that Burger King’s official X account replied with a sarcastic written message mocking Kempczinski. However, there is no evidence that Burger King posted the quote circulating in viral posts.
Instead, Burger King’s response took a different form. Tom Curtis, president of Burger King U.S. and Canada, posted a short video showing himself taking an exaggeratedly large bite of a Whopper. The clip was widely interpreted as a playful jab at the McDonald’s video, but it did not mention Kempczinski or McDonald’s by name.
Conclusion
The viral post claiming McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski posted a LinkedIn message defending his “small bite” of the Big Arch burger, and that Burger King’s official X account replied with a sarcastic quote, is not supported by available evidence. We found no record of the alleged LinkedIn statement on Kempczinski’s verified profile or in credible media coverage, and no trace of the purported Burger King tweet on the brand’s official accounts.
Burger King appeared to reference the viral moment indirectly, but not through the quoted text circulating online. Instead, Burger King executive Tom Curtis posted a short video of himself taking an exaggeratedly large bite of a Whopper, which some viewers interpreted as a playful response, but it did not name Kempczinski or McDonald’s.
Additionally, representatives for both companies confirmed that the viral quotes were fabricated and not issued through official channels.
Title: Viral Quotes About McDonald’s CEO and Burger King “Clapback” Are Fabricated
Fact Check By: Cielito Wang
Result: False
