The clown war just got serious. Especially for something that revolves around clowns.
Beloved McDonald’s mascot Ronald McDonald is in danger of being pushed into semi-exile, due to the rash of creepy clown sightings and incidents that have plagued the nation in recent weeks.
The fast-food giant said Tuesday that it will be “thoughtful” about Ronald’s community appearances, presumably meaning that the red-nosed icon will be showing up less frequently.
“McDonald’s and franchisees in local markets are mindful of the current climate around clown sightings in communities and as such are being thoughtful with respect to Ronald McDonald’s participation in community events for the time being,” the company said in a statement.
The clown-faced character has been representing the fast-food company in various incarnations since 1963. But that decades-long run of greasepaint-caked ambassadorship has now been disrupted by an epidemic.
The public has been inundated with media reports of “creepy” clown sightings and incidents involving people dressed as clowns in recent weeks, though some reports have turned out to be hoaxes. As recently as Monday, a handful of clown-related incidents were reported, including an incident in North Carolina in which a hatchet-wielding man in clown makeup was arrested for trespassing on a store’s property.
Somebody better get Officer Big Mac on the case right away.
'Subway Guy' Jared Fogle: A Timeline (Photos)
1998: Jared, a student at Indiana University, weighed 425 pounds. He started his "Subway diet," which consisted of two Subway sandwiches a day minus cheese and mayo, and instituted a daily walking regimen.
1999: Fogle lost 245 pounds, and his story was picked up by his college newspaper and Men's Health magazine.
2000: Subway signed Fogle to tell the story of his Subway-aided weight loss in a series of regional TV ads, before taking the campaign national and turning Fogle into a celebrity.
2002: South Park lampooned Fogle in an episode called "Jared Has Aides" (pun intended). Fogle told The Washington Post it was "very flattering."
2006: WWE wrestler John Cena appeared in a Subway ad with Fogle, the beginning of a number of Subway/Fogle/WWE interactions over the next half-decade.
2008: A Subway campaign called Tour de Pants celebrated Fogle's decade of keeping off the weight with a ten-city tour to fight childhood obesity, after which Jared retired his old size-60 pants.
2014: Subway ran a tie-in marketing campaign for "Muppets Most Wanted," and Jared shared the screen with Miss Piggy and Kermit in a retroactively baggage-filled TV ad.
2014: Fogle made a cameo appearance in the TV movie "Sharknado 2: The Second One." He returned for "Sharknado 3" the following year but his appearance was cut when charges were filed against him.
April 2015: Russell Taylor, director of the Jared Foundation, was arrested for child pornography. Items found in Taylor's house by investigators implicated Fogle. Taylor attempted suicide, unsuccessfully, not long after.
2015: Fogle was himself arrested on charges of child pornography and sex with a minor. After making a plea agreement, Fogle was sentenced to 15 years in prison, and sent to a low-security facility in Colorado.
Jared’s journey from regular fat guy to fast food spokesperson to prison inmate
1998: Jared, a student at Indiana University, weighed 425 pounds. He started his "Subway diet," which consisted of two Subway sandwiches a day minus cheese and mayo, and instituted a daily walking regimen.
