Chris Kempczinski Can’t Eat a Burger on Camera — And McDonald’s Somehow Doesn’t Care

No one in the C-suite truly gets ready for a certain kind of internet fame. It doesn’t originate from a shareholder letter or a product launch. It shows up out of the blue when someone records you biting into a hamburger, and something about the way you do it strikes seventeen million people as profoundly, mysteriously incorrect.

In the first few months of 2026, Chris Kempczinski, CEO of McDonald’s, had to deal with that circumstance. He was seen tasting the chain’s new Big Arch burger, which consists of two quarter-pound beef patties, white cheddar cheese, and tart sauce, in a social media video that went viral in February. Not because of the burger. Due to the bite. In the same breath, he described a tiny, cautious, almost reluctant nibble at the edge of a sandwich as a “product” he didn’t “even know how to attack.” The comment sections were a blast. They haven’t completely stopped yet.

One could watch that video and experience a brief moment of empathy for the man. It’s really awkward to eat in front of the camera. A particular type of performance that most people would struggle with is eating a towering double-patty burger on camera while attempting to sound enthusiastic and authoritative about it. However, Kempczinski is the CEO of the most well-known fast food chain in the world. He’s the one who should appear at ease, biting into a Big Arch. It was humorous and spread because of the discrepancy between expectations and reality.

At the very least, Kempczinski’s explanation to the Wall Street Journal in April was unique. He placed the blame on his mom. In particular, her conviction is that one should never speak while eating. It’s the kind of response that’s disarming because it’s so commonplace: a man in charge of a multinational company with tens of thousands of locations blaming a PR issue on maternal table manners. It’s hard to tell if it was a sincere reflection or a deliberate attempt at relatability. It ended up somewhere in the middle, which was probably the best result at the time.

The follow-up video was not very helpful. When asked how to eat smoothly on camera during the same Wall Street Journal interview, Kempczinski responded, “Just dive right in.” He then took a bite out of a chicken nugget, which elicited nearly the same reactions as the original clip. It was deemed worse than the burger incident by one Instagram commenter. People on TikTok questioned why he made eating appear painful. “Damage control not working” was mentioned multiple times. The internet seemed to have already formed an opinion about Kempczinski and was merely seeking confirmation.

However, the virality isn’t what makes this story truly fascinating. It’s what the virality highlights about the peculiar role that contemporary CEOs play. In an effort to achieve a level of social media authenticity that was previously only available to influencers and late-night hosts, business executives have been putting themselves in front of cameras more frequently. Think of the executives who have developed genuine public warmth through well-managed online presence. Sometimes it works. More often than not, it results in situations like this one, where people’s preconceived notions about the distance between a corner office and the actual product being sold are unintentionally confirmed by the attempt to appear human.

Though humorous, the remark that Kempczinski’s “aura screams kale salad” suggests something genuine. The public continues to have low-grade doubts about whether those in charge of fast food chains genuinely consume the food. Fast food occupies a particular cultural space where authenticity of enjoyment feels relevant, but it’s an unfair standard in some ways—no one expects pharmaceutical executives to take their own medication on camera. That skepticism solidifies into a meme when the boss refers to a burger as a “product” while hardly touching it.

It’s important to note that none of this seems to be seriously harming McDonald’s. As of early April 2026, the stock was up about 3% from the previous year, indicating that investors are focusing on metrics other than bite size. After holding senior positions at PepsiCo and Kraft International, Kempczinski joined the company in 2015 and assumed the top position in late 2019, leading it through a pandemic, changing consumer preferences, and a period of substantial menu evolution. The man is qualified. That record is not erased by one or two awkward videos.

There’s something almost charming about how poorly this entire episode went and how insignificant it was in the end. The internet evolved. The Big Arch is still available. Kempczinski continues to serve as CEO. And somewhere, his mother must be pleased that at least he didn’t talk while eating.