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Judge lets McRib meat lawsuit against McDonald's proceed

Judge April Perry rejected McDonald's bid to dismiss the proposed class action in full, citing a survey where seventy-two percent expected rib meat; the sandwich remains on trial.

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  1. Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentA federal judge in Chicago just let a lawsuit over what's actually in the McRib go forward, and I have a man on the line who knows labels.

  2. Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentWalter, thanks for taking the call.

  3. Walter Boudreaux SzymanskiHappy to be here, Kenji. They gave me twelve minutes on the phone, and I'm spending them on pork.

  4. Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentSo the suit says the McRib has pork shoulder, heart, tripe and stomach in it, not rib meat. McDonald's says that's meritless.

  5. Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentIs that a fair fight?

  6. Walter Boudreaux SzymanskiNo, and here's why.

  7. Walter Boudreaux SzymanskiAllegedly, I once moved four hundred pounds of mystery trim out of a freezer in Bridgeport, and I can tell you nobody's ever asked a shoulder where it's from.

  8. Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentAllegedly. Okay. McDonald's says the patty has no hearts, no tripe, and no scalded stomach. Scalded stomach. Who writes that?

  9. Walter Boudreaux SzymanskiSomebody who read the full list first. You don't deny scalded unless you've been in the room where the scalding was discussed.

  10. Walter Boudreaux SzymanskiI've been in that room. Allegedly.

  11. Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentTheir denial sounds like it was researched at two in the morning.

  12. Walter Boudreaux SzymanskiRight. And the judge, April Perry, said a seven dollar sandwich shouldn't make you research which cut of pork you're buying. I've researched.

  13. Walter Boudreaux SzymanskiThis spork has seen things.

  14. Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentOne survey in the filing found seventy-two percent of people expected rib meat. Is that a crime or just reading the name?

  15. Walter Boudreaux SzymanskiReading the name. The judge said the rib-shaped marketing could support a claim of intent to defraud, though they need more proof.

  16. Walter Boudreaux SzymanskiWhich is the same thing my lawyer said about the freezer in Bridgeport.

  17. Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentThe sandwich has been around since nineteen eighty-one. That's forty-five years of people trusting a shape.

  18. Walter Boudreaux SzymanskiShape is everything. Trust me, I've sold a lot of things on shape.

  19. Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentVerdict: the lawsuit lives, McDonald's denial is the real entertainment. Walter, do you trust a label?

  20. Walter Boudreaux SzymanskiNever. The tray here has a label too, and it just says meat.

  21. Walter Boudreaux SzymanskiI eat it every day, and I'm the one who's allegedly a fraud.

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The story so far

  1. McDonald's UK Leak: Two Items Reportedly Returning in January · The Sun
  2. McDonald's hosts reservation-only chef's table in Brooklyn · Allrecipes
  3. McDonald's refreshes McCrispy Fried Chicken and adds new coleslaw · HungryGoWhere
  4. Nelly says Taylor Swift paid him in a McDonald's bag · New York Post
  5. Judge lets McRib meat lawsuit against McDonald's proceed (this story)

From the archive: everything BBN aired on Saturday, October 31, 2026 · the U.S. archive · all months