Sarah Michelle Gellar has been acting since she was a little girl, and very early on in her career, she ran into a bump in the road all because of an incident involving a couple of fast-food restaurants. Sarah Michelle was actually sued by McDonald’s when she was just 5 years old, thanks to something she said in a commercial for another brand.
Sarah Michelle starred in a Burger King commercial in 1981
She was just 5 years old at the time, and in the commercial, she did something that had never been done before: She mentioned the name of Burger King’s competitor โ McDonald’s, obviously โย directly in the ad.
“Do I look 20% smaller to you? I must to McDonald’s,” she says in the commercial. “When I order a regular burger at McDonald’s, they make it with 20% less meat than Burger King. Unbelievable!
She ended up being involved in a lawsuit because of what she said in the ad
While talking to Buzzfeed UK, Sarah Michelle revealed that she ended up in the crossfire of the feuding fast-food joints.
“I was the first person to say another competitor’s name in a job, and so McDonald’s turned around and sued the advertising agency, Burger King, and me at 5,” she said.
That's not the biggest bummer she remembers from filming that commercial, though
Instead, it was realizing that she wouldn’t get to eat the burger used in the shoot, because it wasn’t actually edible.
“What I really remember was I didn’t eat a lot of fast food at the time, and when we were there, I just wanted a burger. I was so excited because my mom said that I could have the burger,” she said. “And what I learned on that day is that when they make the burgers for commercials, they glue each seed on it to make it look all perfect and beautiful, and then they shellac it, and they paint it.”
We can see why she’d be disappointed, especially at such a young age!
In a previous interview, Sarah shared more about the lawsuit
As People pointed out, while talking to the Sunday Express back in 2004, she said she “wasn’t allowed to eat” at McDonald’s while the lawsuit was ongoing.
“It was tough because, when you’re a little kid, McDonald’s is where all your friends have their birthday parties, so I missed out on a lot of apple pies,” she said.
Talk about feeling left out!
Fortunately, it's been a long time since then
And with more than 40 years between now and the time the commercial first aired, we have a feeling she’s probably allowed to grab a Big Mac again if she wants one.
Still, for a kid, that had to be tough. Really, no Happy Meals?
