This man assaulted a McDonald’s worker just so he could expand his adult Happy Meal cup collection.
Let’s be clear—getting your hands on a collectible isn’t a reason to get physical with someone, especially a person who’s just doing their job.
McDonald’s Collector’s Meal craze
Officially called “Collector’s Meals,” these adult happy meals come with a special edition cup. Depending on your location, the cups have a simple, clear embossed glass design or a colorful character-filled landscape on a plastic cup.
Each cup type has six different collectible designs featuring old and new McDonald’s collabs, including Barbie, Beanie Babies, Coca-Cola, Grimace, Hello Kitty, and Shrek.
The cups have quickly gained popularity across different fanbases, with one group of friends planning a McDonald’s outing for the occasion and another woman regretfully breaking her McDonald’s boycott just to add another cup to her nostalgic collection.
Three eligible collector’s meals come with a special edition cup: the sausage McMuffin with egg, Big Mac, and 10-piece chicken nuggets.
“These new collectible cups commemorate some of our most unforgettable designs and global collaborations over the years, allowing longtime fans to relive treasured moments and helping a new generation make their own lasting memories,” said Morgan Flatley, Global Chief Marketing Officer and Head of New Business Ventures at McDonald’s in a press release.
The Collectors Meals are available on the app, dine-in, and in the drive-thru.
McDonalds’ has been launching these novelty cups for decades, with the first one seemingly dating back to the 1970s. But they haven’t been without controversy over the years, with several being recalled for the presence of lead.
A customer unhappy with his collectible
In a viral video with more than 5 million views, customer Bryan James (@bryanjames76) filmed an unexpected reaction from another customer who was seemingly unhappy with the collectible cup he ended up with.
In the video, the man is seen behind the counter, near the kitchen (red flag number one), scuffling with a worker and pushing him. As he walks away, the man is holding two blue plastic-wrapped cups in his hands.
In the background, another worker is heard saying, in Spanish, “Take it from him, take it from him.”
We assume the man already had one of the character cups and ended up with duplicates this time around. Instead of politely asking the workers for a different cup (which, keep in mind, are plastic-wrapped, so the workers themselves don’t even know what’s inside), he took it forcibly.
How to get the McDonald’s collectible cup you want
According to a McDonald’s subreddit for workers, cups are distributed based on what box is open at the time.
“3 designs to a box (going off what the owner who swiped our boxes to show our franchise GMs), one box open at a time generally,” one user explained.
Another said that workers generally adopt a “you get what you get” mentality with the cups since it would be wildly inefficient to search the boxes for every unhappy collector.
If you want to increase your chances of not getting repeat, the Redditors suggest going to different McDonald’s locations at different times of day.
@bryanjames76 Fyp#fypシ゚viral #fypシ゚viral ♬ original sound – bryanjames76
Viewers had a lot to say in the comments section of James’ video.
“Me looking for the shrek cup,” a top comment read.
“Me if I order 3 meals and get the same cup,” a person said in agreement.
“I work at McDonald’s and can confirm we are taking all the good cups,” another added.
I currently only have 3 and 2 repeats I’ll wait to find them at rummage sales in a few years,” a viewer chimed in.
The Daily Dot reached out to the McDonald’s bystander for comment via TikTok direct message and comment and to McDonald’s via email.
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