What Happened to Free Fry Fridays at McDonald’s?!

It was the bite heard ‘round the world. McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski went viral for taking the smallest, most comically restrained bite of his chain’s own burger, and the internet pointed and laughed. And things didn’t stop there. Chris tried to put a bandaid on this little controversy with do-over video—but at that point, the damage had been done. 

Videos by Sporked

Don’t worry, Chris. I’m about to save your entire career. All it takes is one tweet. Are you ready? Here it is: 

“With great power comes great responsibility. Now that I have achieved unprecedented fame by becoming a viral internet sensation, I’ve realized it’s time to give back to those who have brought me here. Free Fries Fridays at McDonald’s have returned. Permanently.”

And then a quick follow up: “You’re welcome, b*tches.”

That’s it. You’ve made it. You’re in. 

In 2025, McDonald’s had a year-long promotion where you could get free fries EVERY Friday with a purchase.

You had to order through the McDonald’s app and place an order of at least $1. That was it. $1. And you’d get a medium-size fry with your order for free. 

This was not just in 2025. McDonald’s has been running this promotion on and off for years. For many loyal customers, this is a deal they know well and use frequently. I guess I wasn’t enough of a loyal customer, since I just found out about it this year. Womp, womp. Someone play the tiny violin for me. I am devastated. 

Some sources have claimed that McDonald’s would also continue Free Fries Friday in 2026. 

By “some sources,” I mean this article that led me astray, claiming Free Fries Friday would be back for the rest of this year (it was only back for, like, two weeks in January), plus my own personal delusions. 

But it was false. Free Fry Fridays are gone. When exactly the promotion ended seemed to have varied by different location, but it’s officially the end of an era. “Ariana, what is this article even about?” I don’t know, okay? I’m reckoning with my own grief over an epic lost love I never fully had the chance to know. We were ships in the night, McDonald’s Free Fry Fridays and me. And this is my plea for Chris to bring it back to me. 

That is all. Good day.