When Toronto-based reporter Byran Passifiume ordered the staple breakfast item bagel with some 'extra herb cream cheese' from McDonald's Canada, little did he think that the worker at the fast-food chain would take it too literally.
While the regular cream cheese bagel is a circular bread cut into half and slathered with cream cheese (usually applied like butter), the one that the journalist received was with hell lot of cream cheese than the bagel, way more than what is actually necessary. That is, approximately two inches of cream cheese overloaded!
"I ordered extra cream cheese as they usually just apply it like butter, but this is clearly just an exercise in passive-aggressiveness. How do I possibly eat this? (sic)," he shared the photos of the bagel and they instantly went viral on social media.
More photos of this monstrosity. I ordered extra cream cheese as they usually just apply it like butter, but this is clearly just an exercise in passive-aggressiveness. How do I possibly eat this? pic.twitter.com/XM70yMrnqp
— ð™±ðš›ðš¢ðšŠðš— ð™¿ðšŠðšœðšœðš’ðšðš’ðšžðš–𚎠(@BryanPassifiume) February 25, 2020
Passifiume compared it with many other objects

Later, he also started comparing the enormous height of the bagel to objects like Lottomax jackpot, an emergency naloxone inhaler, Geiger counter, €10 currency, among many others just to prove that the bagel is huge than them. And it even got the name 'McMonstrosity' and became a trending meme online. However, he safely wrapped the McMonstrosity and left it on his desk that night.
I'm done for the day ... I have carefully wrapped McMonstrosity up and will leave him on my desk tonight. I will tweet an update at 7am Wednesday morning on its status when I return to work. One like = 15 amen pic.twitter.com/h9FkHQg9Wk
— ð™±ðš›ðš¢ðšŠðš— ð™¿ðšŠðšœðšœðš’ðšðš’ðšžðš–𚎠(@BryanPassifiume) February 25, 2020
The next day, the reporter at Toronto Sun decided to get the same item again from McDonald's. But they told him they had run out of cream cheese. Yeah, we know why. "LOL I was just told they don't have any more herb and garlic cream cheese... no kidding, they gave it all to me yesterday. So regular it is." Still, his second-order too had plenty of cream cheese, but something he could manage to eat. He even compared the two bagels and said that the cream cheese in the previous day's order had yellowed and crusted while the bagel was shrivelled.
Good Lord that's a lot of cream cheese.... but nothing like yesterday pic.twitter.com/w3HO1s0xXJ
— ð™±ðš›ðš¢ðšŠðš— ð™¿ðšŠðšœðšœðš’ðšðš’ðšžðš–𚎠(@BryanPassifiume) February 26, 2020
Here's yesterday's McMonstrosity next to today's offering. As you can see the cream cheese has yellowed and crusted overnight, and the bagel has shriveled. It'll probably end up in the trash, or I'll pretend to compost it. pic.twitter.com/wSmWfsOiX3
— ð™±ðš›ðš¢ðšŠðš— ð™¿ðšŠðšœðšœðš’ðšðš’ðšžðš–𚎠(@BryanPassifiume) February 26, 2020
Meanwhile, after his bagel story went viral on social media, McDonald's decided to surprise Passifiume by sending a lot of cream cheese bagels for him and for his colleagues. "So building security just came to my desk — some bigwigs from @McDonaldsCanada were downstairs, seeking an audience. Turns out they were hooking the Toronto Sun newsroom up with breakfast — featuring a pile of cream cheese bagels. #teammcds for the win! (sic)," he wrote while sharing the pictures on Twitter.
So building security just came to my desk — some bigwigs from @McDonaldsCanada were downstairs, seeking an audience. Turns out they were hooking the Toronto Sun newsroom up with breakfast — featuring a pile of cream cheese bagels. #teammcds for the win! pic.twitter.com/ceAgPHyNu8
— ð™±ðš›ðš¢ðšŠðš— ð™¿ðšŠðšœðšœðš’ðšðš’ðšžðš–𚎠(@BryanPassifiume) February 27, 2020
Here's how social media reacted!
@WKradel
My dad @Mjkradel one time ordered a cheeseburger with "nothing on it" at a McDonald's and they gave him only a bun.
@CPAness
Did this to a 10:57 PM drive through customer's 1/4 pounder with cheese in a Pembroke Pines McDonald's in 1983. Extra pickles out the wazzo. Definitely was stretching my passive-aggressive wings in that moment. No regrets.
@bookshelfbattle
No doubt there is a backstory. I theorize this employee was once yelled at for not putting on enough extra cream cheese and vowed it would never happen again.
@RepublicanReact
Scrape it into a container. Free cream cheese for the rest of the week. I mean, is this a real problem?
@BellaV303
I remember once I asked for extra ketchup and the guy filled up a soda cup full of ketchup and handed it to me