Burger King Just Can't Escape This 'Foot Lettuce' Scandal

The fast food industry has been plagued by its fair share of scandals for years. Everything from E. Coli outbreaks to hot coffee lawsuits have made the news, and new ones pop up so frequently you could organize them by restaurant. Burger King has had a number of its own scandals, but one that refuses to go away even after a decade involves lettuce and an employee's feet.

In July 2012, a photo of a man wearing a Burger King uniform and black shoes while standing in plastic bins of lettuce inside the restaurant went viral. It was captioned "This is the lettuce you eat at Burger King." The incident became one of the biggest memes of the time and it's so well known it even has its own Wikipedia page.

The photo had been posted to 4chan but the metadata embedded in the image was analyzed by users of the site to get the exact location where the picture was taken. The story was widely reported in major outlets like CBS, ABC, FOX, and CNN.

The image rubbed forum users the wrong way and was reported to the restaurant. Once the franchisee operating the restaurant was made aware, an internal investigation followed, which led to three firings, though no one was identified at the time. The story should have ended there for Burger King, but the internet is forever, and some people never forget. In 2017, YouTuber Chills narrated a video detailing the story that got millions of views. Just this past year, the employee pictured in the lettuce, Alex, did an AMA on Reddit to answer questions about the incident and explain his side.

Alex, who posted on multiple social media sites under the names Epic Alex Time, Foot Lettuce Man, and Foot Lettuce Guy, said a friend took the photo as a joke. He got fired for it but faced no legal consequences. In a supplementary YouTube video, Alex explained he routinely engaged in what could best be described as foolish behavior. He talked about eating whole raw onions or piling mayo three inches thick on burgers when customers asked for extra.

In the AMA, one of the first things Alex admitted was that the lettuce was never served to customers. "I wouldn't reveal myself if I had actually served it. And likely, legal action would've been taken," he said. Later in the same thread, he explained he was not the one to post or caption the photo.

The nature of internet virality can be cyclical, and Alex acknowledged that. "Just when we start to forget about it and think everyone else has too, the meme resurfaces and gets 300m views. I may have permanently damaged their sales," he said in the AMA. It's because of new people discovering and spreading the story that Burger King may never escape Foot Lettuce Guy, and that's why it's one of those fast food scandals we still think about today.

Tragically, reports indicate Alex passed away shortly after his AMA. His commentary showed a blend of humor and remorse over his brief moment of infamy. "It was a symbol of shame for me for a long time. But, now that I've recently revealed myself and received such amazing support and love, I am very fond of it," he said.