Funny Memes About the Cinnamon Toast Crunch Shrimp Tail Saga
Breaking Down the Cinna-Shrimp Toast Crunch Saga of 2021 (and the Memes It's Inspired)
Contaminated food. Gaslighting. A fall from grace. Unexpected celebrity cameos. No, these aren't the plot points of some new restaurant dramedy on Netflix — they're pieces of a wild story that's captured the attention of Twitter users worldwide this week. Buckle up, folks, 'cause this one's got more twists and turns than Space Mountain.
It all started when a comedian and writer by the name of Jensen Karp — who, BTW, just so happens to be married to Danielle Fishel, aka Topanga of Boy Meets World fame — sat down for his morning bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. When he tipped over the box for a second helping of the beloved cinnamon-dusted squares, out came a duo of sugar-coated shrimp tails. Understandably horrified by the appetite-obliterating discovery, Jensen shared the below picture on Twitter, making sure to tag the brand's handle to encourage a response.
Ummmm @CTCSquares - why are there shrimp tails in my cereal? (This is not a bit) pic.twitter.com/tTjiAdrnVp — Jensen Karp (@JensenKarp) March 22, 2021
And respond they did. As Jensen's tweet quickly picked up steam, the Cinnamon Toast Crunch account replied just over an hour later, offering to replace the box and instructing him to send a DM so they could "collect more details." The DM was sent, but things took a sharp left turn when @CTCSquares came back with quite the preposterous claim — "after further investigation," they concluded that the shrimp tails in question were actually "an accumulation of the cinnamon sugar that sometimes can occur when ingredients aren't thoroughly blended." Hmm . . . did their whole team skip the crustacean chapter of high school biology class? Because those are absolutely shrimp tails, folks.
In the hours that followed, Topanga's husband kept followers of the saga abreast of any and all crucial updates, including more evidence of Cinnamon Toast Crunch gaslighting via Twitter DM and email. Yet another horrid development arose when Jensen faced his fears and inspected the laced bag of cereal, only to find that it also contained a piece of string and a few cinnamon-sugar squares with black flecks that he feared could potentially be rat or mouse droppings. Plus, the other bag included in his two-pack box appeared to have clear tape on the bottom, indicating that it could've been tampered with at some point. Sheesh, we told you this plot was thicker than a bowl of oatmeal.
Also, many of the squares have black marks, and some are dyed red? And yes, I ate a bowl before noticing all this. pic.twitter.com/Y9WWmsTznP — Jensen Karp (@JensenKarp) March 22, 2021
Jensen told the New York Times that he's in the process of getting both the shrimp tails and possibly poop-encrusted pieces tested in a lab. "I'm not considering legal action," he said. "Obviously, if I ate rat poop, we're gonna have to readdress that." Meanwhile, Cinnamon Toast Crunch continued to deny responsibility for the snafu, releasing an official statement on Twitter that read: "While we are still investigating this matter, we can say with confidence that this did not occur at our facility. We are waiting for the consumer to send us the package to investigate further."
The engrossing (emphasis on "gross") fiasco touched Twitter users from all corners of the internet. Chance the Rapper chimed in and revealed that he and Jensen go way back. Seth Rogen got in on the action by consistently replying to Jensen's tweets. And dozens more went the more humourous route and used the drama to inspire some hysterical memes and reactions, which we've compiled ahead as a palate cleanser. Our Cinnamon Toast Crunch cravings may have evaporated indefinitely, but hey, at least we have this content to entertain us for the remainder of the week.
