Mark Wahlberg Demands Name Change Over Honorary Burger

It’s one of the greatest honours that could be bestowed upon an actor… an honorary burger fried in his or her name.

But it seems Mark Wahlberg is not happy with a new burger named after him, and has issued a cease and desist order against it.

London’s Lucky Chip, which is running a pop-up kitchen in the Old Queen’s Head pub in Islington, introduced the Mark Wahlberg burger alongside hearty sandwiches named after the likes of The Beastie Boys, Woody Harrelson and Kevin Bacon earlier this month.

But the burger - made from 35-day aged longhorn beef, and topped with braised short rib - was slapped with the writ just days later.

The issue appears to be over the fact that Wahlberg has a stake in Wahlburgers, a chain of burger joints in the US owned by his chef brother Paul.

A reality show, also called ‘Wahlburgers’, about the set-up of the family business, aired in 2014.

But though Wahlberg thanked Lucky Chip for wanting to 'honour’ him, his lawyers said that the burger could give the impression it was being official endorsed by him.

Lucky Chip’s Ben Denner told the Evening Standard: “We named it after him because I’m just a big fan, I think he’s a great dude. I’m a fan of a lot of his movies.

“When I saw the email I opened it and thought at first it was a joke. I was a bit surprised to be honest.

“Fair enough if we were in America trying to compete with his brand, I could understand that, but we’re a small company and it’s quite fun and laidback.

“I don’t think we’ve disrespected him in any way. Personally, I would have thought he’d be happy.

“There are no hard feelings from my end. I hope he comes in for lunch one day.”

The burger, which weighs in at £9.95 and also features American cheese, pickled coleslaw, spicy BBQ sauce and Japanese-style mayo, has now been renamed the 'Dirk Diggler’, after Wahlberg’s character in 'Boogie Nights’.

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Image credits: The Old Queen’s Head/AP/Getty