Rick and Morty is getting the kind of publicity the showrunners never wanted, as the season 3 premiere’s running joke about McDonald’s Szechuan dipping sauce from the the late ’90s became an actual promotional campaign – a campaign which has now taken an ugly turn.
There are growing reports of police intervention and a general sense of outrage, as McDonald’s is apparently way understocked to service the massive turnouts of Szechaun sauce enthusiasts.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Read on below for a summary of police clashes with angry Rick and Morty fans, and more videos of mobbing crowds and other unrest being filmed at various McDonald’s locations across the country:
Palm Beach Police
In Wellington, Palm Beach, Florida, police had to be called to a local McDonald’s, after fans got real angry with the restaurantย for never actually delivering the promised Szechuanย sauce.ย
My Palm Beach Post spoke to fans on the scene, and got the following responses:ย
“I’m upset,” said Matthew Jones, 25, of West Palm Beach. Jones waited two hours in line before being told by managers that the restaurant never had any sauce to offer, he said.
“I asked when I got here and they said they had the sauce,” Jones said. “And they made us buy something and wait.”
Cops are at Wellington McDonalds where tons of angry people lined up for hrs for Rick and Morty Szechuan sauce only to learn they had none pic.twitter.com/3T272osid4
โ Lulu Ramadan (@luluramadan) October 7, 2017
When the McDonald’s revealed around 2:30 pm that they didn’t actually have the sauce, two sheriff’s deputies were called in to disperse the crowd. The deputies wouldn’t reveal who exactly called them, and McDonald’s managers declined to comment.
Someย fans on site were blunt about what happened. Here’s what fifteen-year-old Kurt Nolan had to say:ย
“It’s a scam. They made us buy food and made us believe they had the sauce.”ย
Desperate Masses
Here’s a quick survey of some other McDonald’s locations that hadย Rick and Mortyย fans swarming them for Szechuanย sauce they were never going to get.ย
How yโall gonna bring the Szechuan sauce back in limited quantities, for a single day @McDonalds? Look at this. pic.twitter.com/xrL3vYsjUi
โ & (@zeLrsn) October 7, 2017
SZECHUAN SAUCEยป Fans react to McDonaldโs employee informing the crowd they do not have enough sauce for everyone. pic.twitter.com/3B1DOk5kYb
โ UCF Knight News (@UCFKnightNews) October 7, 2017
They ran out of Szechuan sauce already ? #giveusthesauce @McDonalds @adultswim #RickandMorty pic.twitter.com/CLAxM6mkcB
โ Frederick (@fawich) October 7, 2017
Rick and Mortyย has wrapped season 3. The Season 4 premiere date has yet TBD.