Sad US grandpa extends open invitation to burger cookout

A US grandfather who achieved viral fame after one of his grandchildren tweeted a heartbreaking photo of him eating a hamburger at a failed family reunion has invited the public to join him at an upcoming cookout.

Kenny Harmon, known affectionately by his grandchildren as “Papaw”, invited his six grandchildren to join him for a hamburger dinner last week, only to have one of them initially turn up.

A photo of a disappointed Mr Harmon eating his burger was posted to the Twitter account of his granddaughter, Oklahoma university student Kelsey Harmon, accumulating hundreds of thousands of likes and retweets.

Mr Harmon has since proposed hosting a second cookout, this time inviting members of the public to join him.

Grandson Brock Harmon, 20, who eventually made it to the original cookout, has taken to Twitter to explain the event will be held in Purcell, Oklahoma.

Brock Harmon promised Mr Harmon would be in attendance cooking burgers and taking pictures.

In addition to the burgers themselves, t-shirts printed with an image of Mr Harmon and text “I had a burger with Papaw” would be available for purchase.

Mr Harmon’s grandchildren appear to have wasted no time launching a website where the t-shirt and a cap with a similar design could be purchased.

Scandalised visitors have scrambled to leave bad product reviews, slamming the grandchildren for capitalising on the image.

“You make your granddad feel like crap and then try and profit from the publicity. You are horrible people,” one user wrote.

Others have been less critical.

“Honestly – whether the proceeds are going to Papaw or towards the college funds, I'm sure Papaw will be overjoyed for either,” another wrote