14 Notable Pie-Throwing Incidents That Were Varying Degrees of Hilarious
Imagine working your whole life to become a Major League Baseball player, finally achieving your dream and then it all comes crashing down in a horrific pie-throwing accident.
The Godfather of Political Pieing
Underground newspaper editor Jim Retherford chucked the first known politically-motivated pie in 1969, targeting UC Berkeley President Clark Kerr.
The Trend Takes Shape
The following year, Tom Forcade, founder of High Times Magazine, chucked a protest pie at Otto N. Larsen, the Chairman of the President’s Commission on Obscenity and Pornography. It officially became a thing, and activists of the ‘70s added pieing to their toolbelt.
Pieing Becomes a Weapon of the Yippies
The Youth International Party was a movement of radical anti-war and pro-free speech activists who called themselves Yippies. Forcade was a member, and inspired pastry wunderkind Aron Kay to take up the pie tin. Kay nailed a whole hall of fame of celebrities like William F. Buckley Jr., G. Gordon Liddy and Andy Warhol.
Pied for Pride
Partly inspired by Kay, Thomas Higgins, who’s credited with coining the term “gay pride,” very satisfyingly pied homophobic activist Anita Bryant in the face on live television.
Chumbawamba Immortalizes the Event
Chumbawamba’s 2004 song “Just Desserts” is a tribute to the act of political pieing, with lyrics like “Nobody move or the CEO / Gets it in the face with cream and dough.” The song opens with audio from the pieing of Anita Bryant.
The New Enron’s Marketing Stunt Capitalizes on a Real Murder
A gaggle of young bros claiming to have purchased the disgraced energy company have been making bizarre public appearances, in what people largely assume is the lead-up to a crypto scheme. A week after Luigi Mangione assassinated the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, the Enron tykes staged a pieing of their gangly, cherubic CEO for social media.
Pie Minister
In 2000, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien was pied by a protester. It was deemed an act of terrorism and the assailant was ordered to prison.
Canada Wasn’t Messing Around in 2007
In two unrelated attacks, Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach and Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier were publicly pied. Both pie-ers were sentenced to 30 days in prison (and Stelmach wasn’t even hit).
PETA’s Vegan Pie
In what was later deemed an act of terrorism, a PETA member slapped the Canadian fisheries minister with a tofu pie, in protest of the government’s support of seal fishing.
Tag Teaming a Senator
In 2010, Senator Carl Levin was pied by protesters who wanted to “bring to light Sen. Levin’s war crimes.” Two people were arrested — a Michigan State student who hucked the pie, and an accomplice who “distracted” Levin to facilitate the attack.
The Best Defense Is a Good Offense
Sacramento Mayor and former NBA star Kevin Johnson was pied at a charity dinner, but was able to wipe the cream off his face and beat his assailant “to a bloody pulp.”
Bill Gates’ Goopy Face Inspires a Game
Serial pie-er Neol Godin creamed Gates in the face as he was on his way to give a speech to EU officials in Brussels. Soon after, someone programmed a simple whack-a-mole-esque Windows game where you pie as many Bill Gates as possible.
Blue Is Out of Control
The Indianapolis Colts mascot, Blue, has pied opposing teams’ mascots and fans, but has also been known to turn his pies disgracefully against the Colts’ own cheerleaders.
A Career-Altering Pieing
Some MLB teams had a tradition of pieing the batter at the end of a walk-off home run, but the Florida Marlins had to institute a strict no-goofing-around policy in 2010. Left fielder Chris Coghlan was pieing a teammate when he tore his own freaking meniscus.