McDonald's CEO said he blames his mother for his infamous Big Arch taste test

• McDonald's CEO said he blames his mother for the viral Big Arch backlash.
• Chris Kempczinski went viral for taking a tiny bite out of his burger, which he kept calling a "product."
• He said his mother taught him not to talk with his mouth full.

McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski named the villain behind his infamous viral February video testing out a new burger.

"I blame it all on my mom, because she told me, 'Don't talk with your mouth full,'" he said in an interview about the Instagram reel with The Wall Street Journal, released on Monday.

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

In the reel he posted on February 4, Kempczinski taste-tested McDonald's new Big Arch burger, to the internet's dismay.

Social media users zeroed in on his robotic body language, noting how small a bite he took, how he repeatedly called the burger a "product," and how he didn't seem to chew the bite and didn't look like he was enjoying it. The post has been viewed over 16 million times.

In his interview with the Journal, Kempczinski also cleared up rumors that he was a secret vegetarian.

He said he first learned that his reel had gotten backlash from one of his children, who called him to say, "Dad, you've gone viral, and not in a good way."

But Kempczinski took the criticism in stride, saying the video's virality drew more eyeballs to the Big Arch. He added that in the creator economy, consumers are engaging with brands more dynamically and play an equal role in shaping a brand's image, alongside the brand itself.

"This notion of you can control everything — that's not the world that we're in," he said.

Kempczinski often posts videos related to McDonald's. In January, he posted a reel about the top three food trends he predicted would define 2026: fiber, sweet and spicy flavors, and fun drinks.

McDonald's stock is up about 3% in the past year.