McDonald’s new Grimace Shake has gone unexpectedly viral on TikTok, inspiring a horror-themed meme in which people pretend to suffer a gruesome fate after tasting the purple milkshake.

Grimace (McDonald’s muppet-like mascot introduced back in 1972), has undergone a dramatic transformation through the absurdist humor of Gen Z, with the cuddly monster now depicted as a demonic entity.

Videos of teenagers drinking the shake and saying “Happy Birthday Grimace,” before succumbing to Lovecraftian madness and purple-spattered death are racking up millions of views on TikTok.

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The meme has grown increasingly elaborate, with some videos rivaling short films.

What is the Grimace Shake?

The Grimace Shake is a limited-edition, berry-flavored milkshake that McDonalds describes as “inspired by Grimace’s iconic color and sweetness.”

The shake is said to celebrate Grimace’s birthday, and instantly sparked jokes from social media users.

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What is the Grimace Birthday Shake Meme?

The horror meme was started by TikToker @thefrazmaz, who released a video of himself tasting the Grimace Shake the day after it was introduced, cutting to a scene of him lying dead on the floor, his mouth stained with purple.

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The TikTok has racked up over 2.2 million views, with other TikTok creators adding their own spin; besides gooey death, the Grimace Shake has been shown to induce heavy intoxication, demonic possession, and insanity.

Some creators splash the milkshake on their clothes and surroundings to look like a crime scene, or rather, a "Grime Scene," dubbing Grimace a "Griminal."

The meme also inspired a wave of fan art, in which artists have drawn their favorite characters killed by the shake, marked by the signature purple stain.

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What’s the point of the joke?

The meme was inspired by similar videos showing TikTokers pretending to fall ill after eating the “Spider-Verse Whopper,” due to the burgers unnatural color.

The vivid purple of Grimace’s Shake prompted original creator @thefrazmaz to copy the joke, and he offered a simple explanation via TikTok, stating:

"It's literally just a meme ... it’s a really weird color, it means it's not good for you, Grimace is collecting victims... It's just funny, ya know."

Essentially, don’t overthink it. But the original “food poisoning” joke quickly morphed into supernatural horror, reflecting Gen Z’s dark, surreal sense of humor. Grimace’s transformation seems to echo a similar trend across YouTube, TikTok and Roblox, with cute children’s mascots often redesigned as grotesque monsters.

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Subverting cutesy imagery into horror is a common meme trope, and appears to be spreading to mainstream pop culture; it can be seen in the recent Winnie the Pooh slasher movie, Blood and Honey.

Popular video games like Poppy Playtime, Five Nights at Freddy’s, Rainbow Friends and Garten of Banban all feature murderous monsters that resemble colorful children’s toys, like Grimace.

What was McDonald’s response to the Grimace Shake meme?

McDonald’s Instagram and Twitter accounts have acknowledged the meme by releasing an image featuring a confused-looking Grimace, perhaps baffled by the horror he has unleashed.

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McDonald’s marketing department must have been caught off guard by their campaign being hijacked by teenagers, transformed into a horror prompt that isn’t particularly family friendly.

The meme is not under McDonald’s control, but this level of engagement and enthusiasm can’t be bought; the Grimace Shake meme is free advertising, a viral marketing campaign led by the public. No one could have foreseen that a purple milkshake would spark an explosion of creativity.

Happy Birthday to Grimace, the new terror of TikTok.