McDonald’s CEO says his mom is to blame for viral tiny burger bite

McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski says his mother is to blame after a recent taste test landed him in hot water. 

Kempczinski, the subject of widespread backlash after eating a McDonald's Big Arch burger on camera, told The Wall Street Journal his mom encouraged him to mind his manners, especially at the dinner table.

"I think, you know, I blame it all on my mom because she told me, 'Don't talk with your mouth full,'" Kempczinski told WSJ Columnist Tim Higgins.

In the now-viral video, the fast-food executive took a singular bite of the burger before holding it up to the camera. The internet was quick to criticize, with some speculating whether the CEO even eats McDonald's.

The moment prompted several other fast-food executives to add their own burger taste tests into the mix, notably Burger King and Wendy's.

"And, I think probably in that case, I should have just said, 'You know what? To hell with it. I'm gonna go talk with my mouth full.'" Kempczinski said.

McDonald's CEO unfazed by taste test backlash

Kempczinski, who thought it was "great" that people were talking about the Big Arch, was largely unaffected by the criticism thrown his way.

"And I think when you go on to social media, in general, you have to have a thick skin," Kempczinski said.

Kempczinski didn't realize "something was going on" until one of his kids called to tell him he had gone viral, "and not in a good way."

"And then, yeah, I started getting texts and emails and calls," Kempczinski said. "You know, invariably, they were all like, 'Hey, have you seen this?' And it's like, by the thousandth time, 'Yeah, I've seen it.'"

Internet rips into McDonald's CEO again

Kempczinski is once again back in the internet's crosshairs, this time over a McNugget taste test.

In addition to discussing the viral moment with the WSJ, Kempczinski and Higgins did an on-camera bite of a McDonald's chicken nugget.

Kempczinski bites into about half of a McNugget, prefacing that he's "looking forward to taking a nice bite." The clip had garnered more than 500,000 views on TikTok as of April 9.

"The nugget bite was worse than the burger one," one Instagram user commented on the clip shared by the WSJ. "Can we never see him again please?" another Instagram user said.

Similar sentiments were expressed on TikTok.

"This is painful to watch," a TikTok user commented on the WSJ's video. "Damage control not working," another chimed in.

Contributing: Greta Cross, USA TODAY