Burger King Russia Wants ‘IT’ Banned Because Pennywise Looks Like Ronald McDonald
IT‘s titular clown Pennywise is continuing to terrify the world in the Stephen King novel’s movie adaptation. Russia’s branch of Burger King, however, wants to keep the popular film from airing in its region because of Pennywise’s similarity to a certain fast food mascot.
Burger King Russia has asked the nation’s Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) to ban IT from theaters, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Their reasoning behind the proposal is that Pennywise looks too similar to Ronald McDonald. Thus, Burger King Russia feels that the child-devouring character could be confused with the fast food icon, and thus serves as an advertisement for their golden-arched rival.
To be fair, Burger King is not the first to make the comparison between the two clowns. A viral video from earlier this year featured Ronald McDonald in Pennywise’s shoes, showing just how similar the two can be. However, considering how terrifying Stephen King’s creation is in IT, the film could potentially take away business from McDonald’s as viewers become terrified of all clowns, including Ronald himself.
The FAS has confirmed that they are looking into Burger King’s request. A spokesperson for the FAS told the Hollywood Reporter that “we can’t be concerned with the content of the film because the writer and director have their own creative understanding of any character,”but the agency would have to determine if product placement or advertising did exist in the movie.
There’s no time frame as to when Burger King’s request would be processed and a result determined. For now, though, Pennywise is free to terrorize Russian theaters.
