'We want sauce': police called over McDonald's Rick and Morty promotion

The failure to provide enough special edition Szechuan dipping sauce has led to chaotic scenes at fast food outlets across America

A McDonald’s public relations stunt has ended in chaos and acrimony after the fast food chain promised fans of the TV show Rick and Morty a limited edition, long out of production Szechuan dipping sauce and then swiftly ran out.

Police were called to at least one outlet after people in queues for the sauce began getting angry and chanting “we want sauce”.

Ian 👻💀👽 Sikes (@ianjsikes) Angry crowd chants "We want sauce" as police force them back. 1000+ people camped out to get #szechuansauce but McDonalds had 70 sauces... pic.twitter.com/wEaqC64Hln

Fans of Rick and Morty, a hugely popular US science fiction cartoon that riffs off the Back to the Future films, descended on McDonald’s restaurants in cities across the US on Saturday after the chain announced it would be selling a limited run of a long out-of-production Szechuan dipping sauce that is referenced in the show’s third season.

However, things turned sour when fans, who according reports had queued for hours in some places, were told there was no more sauce.

Lulu Ramadan (@luluramadan) Cops are at Wellington McDonalds where tons of angry people lined up for hrs for Rick and Morty Szechuan sauce only to learn they had none pic.twitter.com/3T272osid4

While at a restaurant in Newark, angry customers held up protest signs to demand the sauce they had come for.

Frederick (@fawich) They ran out of Szechuan sauce already 😫 #giveusthesauce @McDonalds @adultswim #RickandMorty pic.twitter.com/CLAxM6mkcB

In some parts of the US, fans encountered stores that had not received the promised sauce and staff who were not aware of the promotion.

Kyle Grantham (@kylegrantham) Common theme, I tried two in Delaware that @McDonalds website said had it, and they say they never got it. Seems like a bait and switch.

In other places, stores only got 20 packets of sauce.

Brandon Kronz (@BrandonKronz) @McDonalds you suck. Only 10 posters & 20 packets of #szechuansauce to a store; there are already 30 in line.. 4 hours early. #rickandmorty

McDonald’s, which in its press release for the promotion said that the sauce release would be “really, really limited”, has apologised to fans that missed out.

McDonald's (@McDonalds) The best fans in the multiverse showed us what they got today. We hear you & we're sorry not everyone could get some super-limited Szechuan.

Ultimately, the fallout from the stunt did not dampen demand for the sauce, with packets currently listed for hundreds of dollars on Ebay.