McDonald’s Grimace Responds to TikTok Birthday Shake Videos

McDonald’s, or rather its mascot Grimace, has finally made its mark after a limited edition shake inspired by the character went viral on TikTok due to a disturbing new trend.

The berry-filled drink, which is not currently available in Canada, was released by the fast food chain earlier this month to celebrate Grimace’s birthday. The mascot was introduced by McDonald’s over five decades ago.

But now, whether intentionally or not, the Muppets-esque purple mascot has inspired a horror-themed trend that will probably forever be associated with the character. (If you’re averse to horror, watch out for the following clips.)

On Tuesday, McDonald’s finally got on the TikTok trend. One tweet, apparently written by Grimace, reads, “join along as if I don’t see the grimace shake trendd.”

“Our fans have great childhood memories of their birthdays at McDonald’s…and Grimace’s Birthday is all about honoring the great, fun moments we all share,” said Tariq Hassan, chief marketing and customer experience officer at McDonald’s USA, in a statement. press release announcing the shake in the US

“Grimace is the perfect sweet icon for McDonald’s to meet our fans at the intersection of nostalgia and culture.”

Many TikTok users, mostly teens and young adults, post videos of themselves drinking the shake and succumbing to a macabre fate, often with the purple liquid spewing from their mouths, noses or heads.

The trend was reportedly started on June 13 by TikTok user Austin Frazier, according to the online meme database Know Your Meme.

said Frazier NBC news that he was inspired by another viral meme of a user pretending to be in the hospital after eating Burger King’s Spider-Verse Whopper.

But the content creator said he was surprised his new trend took off, spawning many new versions that became progressively darker and more graphic, seemingly turning into a form of absurdist humor.

“The great thing about it is, you know, it’s a trend that really took off, and it kind of sparked creativity and allowed people to add their own pieces to it,” Frazier told the outlet.

“So while I might have it a way, you know, the format was set there, but it allowed people to create that funny humor, dark humor, horror, whatever[they]want. ”

The restaurant chain’s social media also appears to have been taken over by the furry mascot during birthday celebrations this month.

On Instagram and Twitter, McDonald’s profile picture now features a picture of the mascot with his eponymous shake in front of his face.

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