McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski Ridiculed Over Viral Big Arch Tasting Video

A promotional Instagram clip posted by McDonald’s CEO and Chairman Chris Kempczinski showing him taste the chain’s new Big Arch burger went viral and prompted widespread online ridicule, with AOL reporting 26,300 likes, 33,300 shares, 8,773 comments and 530 retweets. The clip was reshared widely on X, TikTok and Reddit as outlets covering the post noted.

In the video, Kempczinski introduces the sandwich and says, “I love this product, it is so good. I’m going to do a tasting right now, but I’m going to eat this for my lunch, just so you know,” language that commentators seized on. Viewers flagged his delivery as stiff and overly polished after he lifted the towering sandwich, remarked “Holy Cow! God, that is a big burger,” then took what multiple outlets described as an unusually small first bite and angled the burger toward the camera. He also admitted he “didn’t even know how to attack it,” and after tasting said, “Mmm, that is so good, that’s a big bite for a Big Arch.”

Product details in the coverage place the Big Arch as a larger, premium-style sandwich. Newsweek’s ingredient list identifies two quarter-pound patties, white cheddar cheese, lettuce, pickles, onions and a signature Big Arch sauce on sesame-topped buns, while AOL quotes Kempczinski describing “a unique kind of sesame, poppy sort of bun.” Multiple outlets reported the sandwich was being tested in Portugal, Germany and Canada and was slated to debut in U.S. restaurants “on Tuesday” in articles dated March 1 and March 2, 2026. DailyMail reported the Big Arch is expected to be priced above standard menu items.

Reaction on social media focused as much on tone as on technique. Commenters quoted in coverage wrote lines such as “That was the smallest first bite I’ve ever seen,” “It scares me when you call food ‘product’,” “Man’s aura screams kale salad,” and “He def don't eat McDonalds.” Some critics, according to the original reporting, contrasted Kempczinski’s apparent discomfort with habits attributed to McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc.

Newsweek reported it reached out to McDonald’s via email for comment; none of the supplied reports included a public corporate response. With AOL’s engagement numbers and broad resharing across X, TikTok and Reddit, the clip has become an unexpected public moment for Kempczinski ahead of the Big Arch’s U.S. rollout, complicating the sandwich’s launch narrative as outlets and commenters parse both the product and the CEO’s performance.