Did McDonald's Dump Ronald?
August 10, 2004
Ronald McDonald made fans laugh in his commercials, but now the man who claims he was the guy behind the makeup says he's got a big beef with the Golden Arches, claiming he was given the work he was promised.
Joe Maggard says he made three spots as Ronald McDonald, spokes-clown for the worldwide fast-food chain McDonald's. Originally hired as a stand in, Maggard says he was given the main role after the original Ronald came to work drunk. "He wouldn't come out of his trailer," Maggard explains. "And they said, ‘Can you step in?' And I said, ‘Why sure.' And I did step in and I did the job."
And Maggard says he did such a good job, he was promised more roles as Ronald -- but they never came, and now he's filing suit. "I'm not loving it, and I'll see you in court," Maggard promised.
In his lawsuit, Maggard claims McDonalds made promises to him regarding future work and pay as a primary Ronald McDonald. But in order to get paid for the work he'd already done, Maggard claims McDonalds held his feet to the fryer, forcing him to sign a document promising not to take the company to court.
"They didn't tell me what it was," Maggard insists of the document. "They didn't let me have a lawyer look at it. They just said, ‘Sign this.' So I signed it, but I didn't date it."
Now Maggard, who is currently working on a project about legendary rocker Jerry Garcia, says he's suing anyway, just to send a message. "I'm trying to put McDonald's on notice," he told us. "To start showing respect to the little guy. Would you like fries with that McSummons?"
But McDonalds tells us Maggard never appeared in any commercial, and was only a stand-in. The company tells "CJ" that the lawsuit is without merit, and they are confident the case will be dismissed.
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