Following a chaotic month featuring his very own birthday shake, viral trend and inevitable backlash to said viral trend, McDonald’s is saying goodbye to Grimace. But only for now, we hope, although their tweet does kind of make it sound like they’re getting ready to take him out back and put him out his misery.



On July 6th, almost a month after McDonald’s announced the limited-edition Grimace Shake in celebration of the big purple dude’s birthday, McDonald’s posted a photo of Grimace, looking incredibly cool in sunglasses, waving, with the caption, “u made me feel so specialll ty say goodbye grimace nowww.”


It’s not clear from the tweet whether it’s a goodbye for now or a forever goodbye, but there is a risk that Grimace was so hurt by the viral trend surrounding his shake that he’s leaving the public eye for good, never to be heard from again.


Over on TikTok, people began uploading videos sharing the aftermath of drinking one of the limited-edition purple shakes — namely, tragedy, death and all manner of other horrors. Even celebrities like Courteney Cox got in on the action, with the Friends star uploading a video showing her King Charles Cavalier turning into a monster after sneaking a taste of Cox’s Grimace shake.


@courteneycoxofficial Happy Birthday Grimace #grimaceshake ♬ original sound - Courteney Cox


The trend went so viral that McDonald’s had no choice but to acknowledge it, with “Grimace” tweeting a photo of himself from their official account on June 27th with the caption, “meee pretending i don’t see the grimace shake trendd.”



As is the way with things online, the trend sparked a backlash, with some videos depicting McDonald’s workers who were incredibly tired of having to field requests for the shake. Meanwhile, videos set to the melancholic “Andromeda” by Weyes Blood tugged at people’s heartstrings by providing Grimace’s perspective on everybody turning his birthday into a horrifying meme.


@madgraken HE WAS FRAMED HES JUST A SWEET LITTLE GUY TRYING TO ENJOY HIS BIRTHDAY #grimace #grimaceshake #grimacesbirthday #happybirthdaygrimace #fyp #meme #funny #art #procreate #digitalart ♬ Andromeda - Weyes Blood


Grimace’s fans, including the Today Show, gathered in the replies to his final tweet (and final TikTok video) to say farewell the lovable purple creature, who assured them he was happy and had the best time celebrating his birthday.


Thank god, he did, because it seems like it could very well be his last.