Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Images
Topics: Food And Drink, McDonalds
Anish Vij
There's a chilling reason why McDonald's decided to phase out the Ronald McDonald clown, and why you only see him make cameo appearances.
Most recently, the clown was in action at the Philadelphia Phillies' home game against the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday (2 April, 2025) as he was there to do the opening pitch in a collaboration between the Phillies and McDonald's.
"@ronaldmcdonald kicked off McDonald’s Opening Night with the first pitch, the @phillies sealed the win, and you get a FREE 6pc McNuggets today!" the Philadelphia McDonald's Instagram account said.
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Over in the UK, however, you've probably not seen or heard from the mascot in yonks.
An image of Ronald was always attached to the experience of getting your hands on a Happy Meal as a kid, and though it seems McDonald's opted to ditch the clown, who'd had been in operation since 1963, due to a startling reason.
Back in 2016, a killer clown craze was emerging on social media in August of that year.
As many wore the outfits to hype up a horror movie, other 'creepy crowns' were involved in violent outbreaks in the US, as well as other parts of the world.
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A Florida family was reportedly attacked by a group of 20 people in clown masks, while The Sun also reported that a masked man pulled out a knife and allegedly started running after a boy on his way to school in the UK.
Deciding to steer away from Ronald, a statement from McDonald's read at the time: "McDonald's and franchises in the local markets are mindful of the current climate around clown sightings in communities and as such are being thoughtful in respect to Ronald McDonald's participation in community events for the time being."
A statement on the UK McDonalds website also reads: "We're afraid that Ronald McDonald no longer appears in McDonald's UK advertising, but he is still very busy working for us.
"He often travels up and down the country to help promote some of our exciting new activities and visits our restaurants to make sure everyone is enjoying their meals."
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Ronald McDonald still remains in some restaurants around the world, but is largely nowhere to be seen.
Willard Scott, who was the original portrayer of Ronald, passed away in 2021 at the age of 87.
As Ronald, he featured in commercials and in marketing imagery from the character's first appearance in 1963 into the early 1970s.
In an interview with the New York Times in 1987, Scott said: ''I just love people. A lot of speakers on the talk circuit leave right afterward.
"I do a lot of shmoozing. I'm like a dog. You just open the door and I go, 'rrrr, rrrr,' and then I lick everybody's face."