What is the Stormzy meal and why is the rapper facing backlash over partnering with McDonald's?

The 30-year-old has been told to pipe down himself, on this particular endorsement at least, by one critic who has stuck mock posters around branches of the fast-food eatery in Stormzy’s native south London. “We regret to inform you that Stormzy has sold out,” reads the posters. “Apologies for any disappointment.”.

London-based artist Darren Cullen mocked up the design using the McDonald’s logo, and more than 20,000 have liked an Instagram post where he shows off his creation. Stormzy, who has not been shy about promoting his name through endorsement deals in the past, is now facing a backlash unlike anything he has seen in his career.

Here is how the events have gone down and why the heat is particularly fierce for “Big Mike” this time around. Now entering his fourth decade, Thornton Heath-born Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr has enjoyed success unmatched by any UK rapper.

All three of his albums have gone to number one and, in 2019, he became the first grime MC to headline Glastonbury Festival. His 2022 11-minute single Mel Made Me Do It showed off his status by handing cameos to the likes of Jonathan Ross, Dina Asher Smith, and José Mourinho in the music video.

But, like many rappers, the brand is not exclusive to music. As well as a publishing imprint and record label, he has also weighed into political activism – endorsing the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn and calling for knife-crime action. He has also signed huge endorsement deals. His Christianity is also central to his personal brand and, for a while, he was one half of a Millennial power couple with his then girlfriend, Maya Jama.

Announced at the end of January, the Stormzy Meal can now be bought at fast-food outlets and sees a combination of the rapper’s favourite items: nine Chicken McNuggets, a side of fries and two BBQ dips. For pudding, it’s a choice between an Oreo McFlurry or an Apple Pie, all washed down with a Sprite Zero.

Every Stormzy Meal comes with a set of limited-edition stickers and the rapper has said he is “gassed” to have had the chance to pool together his ultimate meal deal. “Stormzy is a McDonald’s fan through and through,” the fast-food giant said in a statement.

But it’s his latest partnership with McDonald’s that seems to have crossed a line with fans who have raised issues with the deal coinciding with Stormzy deleting all previous social media posts in support of Palestinian causes. This includes a post that said: “1. Free Palestine. 2. In the future, if there is ever a clear injustice in the world no matter how big or small, 100 times out of 100 I will always be on the side of the oppressed. Unequivocally. As I always have been.”.

Pro-Palestine campaigners have now pledged to boycott McDonald’s. “You stood with Palestine when it was convenient, but now that corporate money is involved, you've wiped your support clean like it never existed. Deleting your posts doesn’t erase the suffering – you just chose to turn your back on it,” Rafi Gazi wrote under the piece when it was shared on Instagram.

“Now, you're working with McDonald's, a company that has been linked to funding causes that go against the very people you once claimed to stand for. Was a brand deal worth more than your integrity? Was a paycheck worth more than humanity?”. The post has now been liked more than 7,000 times and has been partial inspiration for artist Cullen and his posters.

He wrote: “These 'Stormzy has sold out' signs are now on every McDonald's drive-thru in south London after he sold out to McDonalds in the middle of the boycott for Gaza and deleted pro-Palestine posts as part of the deal.”. Stormzy has not commented on the backlash and the reel promoting The Stormzy Meal is still pinned to the top of his profile.