Video of McDonald's Workers Berated Over Splenda Packet at Drive-Thru Gets 3.8 Million Hits

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McDonald's Splenda Incident Fight Georgia Fast Food
A Georgia couple recently berated workers at a Georgia McDonald's during an argument that reportedly began when they were denied Splenda sweetener. A different McDonald's drive-thru is pictured at a restaurant in Houston, Texas, on... Brandon Bell/Getty

Police are searching for a Georgia couple captured on a video viewed at least 3.8 million times in which they were screaming and threatening violence at McDonald's workers during an argument over the restaurant running out of Splenda packets, authorities said.

The confrontation recently took place in Locust Grove, a suburb of Atlanta. It started when a man and woman became enraged after learning that the restaurant did not have any more artificial sweetener for a cup of coffee, according to local NBC affiliate WXIA. Footage of the the violent encounter began after the incident had already escalated.

The couple have been identified and a warrant has been issued for their arrest, Locust Grove Police Chief Derrick Austin confirmed to Newsweek on Monday. McDonald's is working with police during the ongoing investigation.

The video, which was originally posted to the @ATLUncensored Twitter account on Thanksgiving, shows the irate couple at first screaming at workers from their white sedan before the confrontation quickly escalates. The woman gets out of the car and forcefully throws a drink at the drive-thru window before one of the workers throws a drink back.

"You want me to get mad? I'll get mad motherf***er, I'll come in that b***h," the man screams while slamming his fists on the closed window seconds later in a longer version of the video subsequently shared by the TikTok account @b0ssprincess, which had been viewed at least 3.8 million times as of Monday.

The couple then drive their car a short distance away from the window before both leave the vehicle and walk back to continue their tirade. The woman is seen shouting and charging towards the window, slamming her hands on the window before opening it from the outside.

The man pokes his head through the window while continuing to scream. Some of the workers, all of whom appear to be women, are also seen shouting back towards the couple, although it is difficult to make out what was said.

"B***h, I'll f**k your ass up, girl," the man screams at workers at one point. "You better shut that f**king mouth up."

The incident continues to escalate until the couple enter the restaurant. One of the workers tells the couple they are "going to jail." The woman responds, "no, you're going to jail."

The man tells a worker to "calm the f***k down" before referring to her using the n-word. The couple both appear to be white, while the workers appear to be mostly Black. The shouting continues until the man menacingly picks up a chair, apparently threatening to hit the workers with it.

It is unclear whether the chair was used to hit anyone based on the video footage, although a worker is heard saying "you don't got to hit nobody with a chair, my frickin' manager, she's an old lady."

The video ends after the couple leave the inside of the restaurant. The woman returns to the drive-thru window, sticking her body halfway through it and grabbing items within her reach and throwing them on the floor. She shouts "tear this thing up" after a worker asks what she is doing.

"The health and well-being of our customers and staff are our top priorities each and every day within our organization," McDonald's Owner/Operator Bruce Vineyard said in a statement to Newsweek. "We are working with local law enforcement as this is an ongoing investigation."

About the writer

Aila Slisco is a Newsweek night reporter based in New York. Her focus is on reporting national politics, where she has covered the 2020 and 2022 elections, the impeachments of Donald Trump and multiple State of the Union addresses. Other topics she has reported on for Newsweek include crime, public health and the emergence of COVID-19. Aila was a freelance writer before joining Newsweek in 2019. You can get in touch with Aila by emailing a.slisco@newsweek.com. Languages: English.


Aila Slisco is a Newsweek night reporter based in New York. Her focus is on reporting national politics, where she ... Read more