A Russian woman is suing McDonald’s after an ad for its Cheeseburgers and McNuggets made her break a meat-free fast during Lent.
Proving the persuasive pull of advertising, the woman, an Orthodox Christian from the Siberian city of Omsk, claimed the mouth-watering ad made her break her Lenten fast.
As is required by her faith, Ksenia Ovchinnikova had sworn off all meat and animal products in a six-week lead up to Easter in 2019.
However, a tasty Macca’s ad enticed Ovchinnikova in-store and she broke her non-meat eating vows by scoffing a Cheeseburger.
Ovchinnikova claimed she had successfully fasted over Lent for 16 years and said McDonald’s and others shouldn’t be allowed to advertise during Lent, while Christians are attempting to abstain.
In a statement to lawyers, Ovchinnikova said: “When I saw an advertising banner, I could not help myself. I visited McDonald’s and bought a cheeseburger.”
Fox News is reporting that Ovchinnikov accused the burger giant of breaking consumer protection law and insulting her religious feelings. She is suing for the grand sum of 1000 rubles (or $18.50 in Australian money) as compensation for sustained moral damage.
According to the report, Ovchinnikov said in her lawsuit: “In the actions of McDonald’s, I see a violation of the consumer protection law. I ask the court to investigate and, if a violation has taken place, to oblige McDonald’s LLC to compensate me for moral damage in the amount of one thousand rubles.”
However, it doesn’t even appear that Ovchinnikov has God on her side. The Bishop of Moscow apparently telling the litigant that she should “go to confession instead of court” over the greasy meat blunder.
Still, Zamoskvoretsky Court in Russia has confirmed that it has received her lawsuit.
“The court received a claim from Ksenia Ovchinnikova, the defendant of which is McDonald’s,” the court told Tass News in a statement.
“Currently, the date of the preliminary hearing on this claim has not yet been set,” the court added.
