An American expat living in Paris is being mocked online by Europeans after saying she found it “weird” that French people put butter in their sandwiches.
On Aug. 4, TikToker Amanda Rollins (@americanfille) posted a video to her TikTok that ignited what she has since deemed “Buttergate.” In the video, which has garnered hundred and thousands of views on TikTok and millions on X (formerly known as Twitter), the influencer describes something the French do with their sandwiches that apparently Americans do not.
“I’m making sandwiches for my boyfriend because we’re going on a hike tomorrow, and as I’m doing this, it occurred to me that French people do something very weird with sandwiches that I think you guys would find strange,” Rollins says in the video.
Taking a sliced baguette, Rollins slathers a bit of French butter onto each side.
“What they do, it’s like a classic sandwich: It’s ham, cheese and butter. Literally, just swab it on — no mayonnaise, no mustard, just butter,” she continues. “And listen, I know you might be thinking that sounds gross. It’s actually so good.”
Placing Emmental cheese and ham onto her simple sandwich, she stresses that this is the way everyone across the pond makes their sandwiches.
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“It’s good dude … Don’t knock it till you try it. Go get yourself a baguette — a real baguette — grab some butter, butter that baby up.”
While it’s true that Americans don’t typically butter their sandwiches, opting more commonly for mayonnaise, as she notes, Europeans on the internet could not believe what they were hearing.
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“I think that’s a normal sandwich everywhere 😂,” one user wrote on TikTok.
“The USA is another world I stg,” wrote another TikToker in one of the most-liked comments.
“America is a failed state,” one X user tweeted with the video.
“there is NO WAY americans dont butter their bread for sandwiches. what? what???? ......what????????? they use butter religiously for everything else, no??? but the one thing- ???????????” wrote another.
“Snicker if you want but ‘putting butter on bread’ described as a ‘food hack’ has made my week,” tweeted yet another, referring to PureWow’s Stitch of Rollin’s video which calls the method a “hack.”
In one viral Stitch, TikToker @jackknightley says, “Oh my god guys, brand new food hack using butter for, like, the whole reason it exists. Hey guys, guess what I’ve discovered, what you can use shoes for: you can put them on your feet … How has the concept of putting butter on bread not spread to the other side of the Atlantic yet?”
The attention got to be so much that Rollins filmed a follow-up video — titled “Buttergate 2.0” — to address peoples’ concerns.
“Everyone is like, Amanda thinks that bread and butter don’t go together. B----. Yes, they do. I know they do, just not always on sandwiches,” Rollins says in the TikTok. ‘That is the beauty of moving abroad, my friends. I’m trying to spread the word, OK? So cut me some slack.”
In the comments section of that video, many people seemed to understand what she was saying.
“Listen I’m Italian and we don’t use butter in sandwiches either 🤷🏻♀️we might have it on a slice of bread with jam sometimes but…idk what’s the (problem),” one user commented.
Rollins, who got on the phone from Paris to talk to TODAY.com about her viral ordeal, reveals that she has been experiencing waves of attention for her short video.
“Sometimes I’ll come across myself on my own For You page of someone Stitching me and I’m like, ‘Oh my god, we’re still talking about butter,’” Rollins says.
“It’s really a lot,” she continues. “Sometimes I’ll check, but sometimes I won’t check though, because sometimes people are Stitching and they’re just mean and I tell myself, ‘I choose peace today.’”
In the past, others have pointed out this butter-on-sandwiches continental conundrum. This includes both Reddit (in 2018) and Bon Appetit, who in 2019 published “Here’s Why Butter Belongs on Every Sandwich” about this very thing.
“When I first got here in 2017, I think one of the first times I went into a boulangerie and got a sandwich and I was like, ‘Wait, it’s just ham and butter, ’” Rollins says, pointing out that butter is usually of higher quality outside of the States. “It felt very gratuitous in a way because you’re just like slapping butter on. I think in the U.S., diet culture is life and our food is very processed.”
Rollins moved to Paris more than six years ago and became an au pair. Now, at 33, she’s a full time content creator sharing her experiences as a real-life “Emily in Paris” — with at least one apparent faux pas now under her belt.
But Rollins says she’s taking “Buttergate” in stride, and reflecting on the way social media fuels both gentle — and harsh — criticism.
“I don’t think people view the internet as a real thing. It’s like a toy. It’s like a game. It’s a place where people are dehumanized, that’s what I’ve noticed, maybe because I’m a creator,” she says. “But, when I see something like this, I immediately put myself in the shoes of that person, but like, it’s crazy to me how few people do that.”
This article first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
