Burger King Russia Wants 'It' Banned For Being McDonald's Propaganda

Pennywise is a shape-changing monster who feasts on children’s flesh, while Ronald McDonald shills unhealthy fast food to kids. They’re both clowns, but other than that they’re vastly different, right? Not so fast, says Burger King’s Russian division, which is trying have the movie It banned from the country because they think Pennywise is stealthily advertising McDonald’s.

The Hollywood Reporter got official confirmation from the country’s Federal Anti-Monopoly Service on Monday confirming that Burger King Russia was indeed taking action against It. The company’s claim that Pennywise’s resemblance to Ronald McDonald alone is enough to merit banning the film is a whopper of an argument, and one the FAS doesn’t seem too likely go for.

“We can’t be concerned with the content of the film because the writer and director have their own creative understanding of any character,” a spokesperson told THR. Instead, any decision would have to look for explicit advertising or product placement.

This isn’t the first time that people have drawn comparisons between Pennywise and Ronald McDonald, though Burger Kind Russia is certainly taking it to another level. In April, a YouTube user shared a parody trailer for It starring Ronald instead of Pennywise.

It opened in Russia on September 7, and grossed more than $14 million. Chances are Burger King won’t be able to stop Pennywise.

Check out this video to find out why an important monster from the book It was cut from the film.