Russell Brand’s been on, to put it mildly, quite an Internet journey these days. The former MTV VJ-turned actor and podcaster still maintains a comedic bent, but his previously apparent left-leaning points of view (and anti-Fox News views) have, well, fallen by the wayside with apparent far-right-leaning, conspiracy-laden rants taking over, all after he hopped aboard with Matthew McConaughey’s POV about not ridiculing people who deny the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
The aforementioned Brand rants generally land on his his YouTube channel with titles like “Vaccine Mandates: An ASSAULT On Your Bodily,” and “SHOCKING Wuhan Evidence: Did Fauci LIE?” There’s some Kremlin propaganda there about the 2016 election, too, along with him supporting antivaxxer truckers, and it’s generally messy stuff. Perhaps that’s why this hamburger photo is leading to strange places.
The Russell Brand Burger. pic.twitter.com/SwuqjLE31k
— Chef Andrew Gruel (@ChefGruel) March 14, 2022
Chef Andrew Gruel, who apparently created this concoction, is an executive chef who’s appeared on Food Network as a judge. He’s also founded a number of restaurants, including Slapfish, Big Parm, and Two Birds. He provided no immediate context for the naming of this burger, if that is, indeed, all that this photo represents. And somehow, this has led to a lot of speculation on the purported naming of the meal-and-a-half. Is this because, by chance, “That sassy British drippage is real”?
That sassy British drippage is real.
— Buzz Patterson (@BuzzPatterson) March 14, 2022
The burger, while possibly tasty (I haven’t eaten meat since age 20, so I’d never be able to say), does look rather heavy. And that’s led some people to wonder if it’s intentionally “Full of sh*t” or “Common Sense.”
Full of shit. Seems accurate
— Dee with all the disorders (@Lady_DeirdreM) March 14, 2022
Is it called the "Common Sense Burger"?
— Johnny Akzam (@JohnnyAkzam) March 14, 2022
Actually, Gruel weighed in on the former option, writing, “@Lady_DeirdreM I think your comment may have changed the world.”
I think your comment may have changed the world.
— Chef Andrew Gruel (@ChefGruel) March 14, 2022
Of course, there’s no way to tell what the tone of Gruel’s reply was. Surely, this was said in jest, but there’s not telling where the humor was aimed without more elaboration. And maybe we don’t want elaboration? It’s a decadent sammich. And a joke about Brand’s Forgetting Sarah Marshall serenade is a followup diversion.
https://twitter.com/amateurputz/status/1503208013552754690
Basically, there’s no consensus here, but “a burger with a lot to say” and “a hot mess” also surfaced as possibilities.
A burger with a lot to say!
— Paula-K (@shadowop) March 14, 2022
That's a hot mess
— Ross (@Rkiks) March 14, 2022
Is there anything vaguely political about this burger? One user asked if “there’s blue in that burger,” which is perhaps an on-the-face question about the color blue (and not intended to read into anything about affiliation) but nonetheless something to consider.
https://twitter.com/BootsTinker/status/1503210733265334280
Then there’s an unavoidable factoid: Brand is a self-described vegan, which adds a whole other layer of possible analysis. This is getting out of hand.
He’s a vegan, is that faux meat & faux bacon? Or is it all real and mocking him?
— Erin Murphy☮️ (@emurph42) March 14, 2022
Isn’t he a vegan?
— Bobzy Bear 💚 (@BobzyBear) March 14, 2022
In the end, this is a whole lot of overthinking about, you know, a burger. So, here are some veggies from Chef Gruel. Yum.
Twitter Fuel: If you’re looking to login and argue with a stranger on Twitter for two hours, you’ll need solid, lean protein and veggies. I got ya covered. pic.twitter.com/XeBT7nh0sF
— Chef Andrew Gruel (@ChefGruel) March 14, 2022