Why Are People Boycotting McDonald's? People Aren't Lovin' It for Some Pretty Good Reasons

You can't be a fast food chain as old as McDonald's without weathering a few controversies. The restaurant opened its first location in 1940 in San Bernardino, Calif. Five decades later, a lawsuit would put it on the map for some pretty upsetting reasons. In 1992, a 79-year-old woman named Stella Liebeck suffered third-degree burns over 16 percent of her body, including her genitalia and inner thighs, after a cup of McDonald's coffee spilled while she was driving.

The lawsuit revealed that McDonald's kept their coffee 30 to 40 degrees hotter than coffee served by other restaurants. It was eventually settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. There are countless other examples of McDonald's doing people dirty. Some are more serious than others. In June 2025, a call to boycott the fast food chain started trending on social media. Here's why.

According to The Independent, a week-long boycott of the Big Mac haven has been organized by an advocacy group that focuses on ethical business practices. The People's Union USA has accused McDonald's of price gouging, unfair labor practices, and avoiding taxes. In a statement posted to their Instagram, the nonprofit has asked folks to boycott McDonald's from June 24 to June 30.

"This is not about fast food," said one advocate in the Instagram video. "It's about power to the people." They are hoping to send a message to all corporations who think they can "get away with" unfair business practices like price gouging. "This is about more than burgers and fries, this is about power," they said. "When we unite and hit corporations in their wallets, they listen."

On Jan. 10, 2022, the Ronald McDonald House Charity in British Columbia and Yukon, Canada, issued a COVID-19 vaccine policy to go into effect on January 17. The statement, as obtained by True North, read: "Everyone five years and older who are working, staying, or visiting our facilities must show proof of full vaccination (two doses), in addition to completing our existing screening, unless an Accommodation has been sought and has been explicitly approved and granted by RMH BC in writing."

The mandate came as part of RHMC's efforts to protect immunocompromised children who were living close to their facilities from the spread of COVID-19. Unfortunately, the message didn't come across to anti-vaxxers.

The mandate went viral after an X user shared the mandate, claiming that the organization in Canada intends to "evict all tenants, adults and children over the age of five, who are not vaccinated by the end of January."

While the mandate's status as an "eviction notice" was questionable at best, it sparked another subsection of the ongoing vaccine debate. Many social media users have bought into the eviction narrative, with one person posting that they will never eat at "rotten Ronnie's again."

Others supported the mandate, acknowledging that sick children aren't being forced out of their hospital stays. One user posted, "Protecting vulnerable kids from COVID spreaders is a great idea so I am gonna support McD today."

The argument received plenty of traffic at the time, with #BoycottMcDonalds dominating X. Anti-vaxxers were using the platform to "protest" RHMC's vaccine mandate that supposedly kicks kids out of their facilities. Others were using the hashtag to explain the safety measures behind the vaccine mandate.

While the eviction argument gained traction, it also wasn't exactly true. In response to the controversy, RHMC reiterated that no one was getting kicked out, least of all sick children hospitalized near their facilities. According to CityNews Vancouver, the organization stated that its family services team would help search for alternate housing arrangements for families who refused to get vaccinated.