Boris Ignachkov It seems there’s a food photographer out there that deserves a raise! A woman from Omsk, Russia, is suing McDonald’s over an advert featuring cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets on Karl Marx Ave in Moscow, which she said caused her to break her fast during Lent: a period in which many devout Christians are expected to sacrifice the eating of meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy for the entire season.
Ksenia Ovchinnikova, an Orthodox Christian, said she had adhered to the custom for a month when she saw an enticing Golden Arches banner advertising a cheeseburger and chicken nuggets. The woman said in her statement, despite successfully fasting for the last 16 years, “When I saw an advertising banner, I could not help myself. I visited McDonald’s and bought a cheeseburger.”
The claimant is suing McDonald’s for 1,000 rubles (9.88 pounds) as compensation for breaching consumer protection law and insulting her religious feelings/sustained moral damage. Ovchinnikov mentions in the 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.”
The court has yet to set a date for Ovchinnikova’s preliminary hearing and move forward with Ovchinnikova’s lawsuit due to issues with its drafting that she still has time to correct.
Ovchinnikova is arguing that companies should be restricted in how they advertise during lent, but a spokesperson for the Bishop of Moscow is urging the claimant to “go to confession instead of court” over this incident.