Microsoft founder Bill Gates, former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, and French singer Patrick Bruel. They all received a cream pie in the face from the Belgian writer and critic Noël Godin. The world's most famous pie thrower passed away this weekend at the age of 80.
In the late 1960s, the Belgian became fascinated as a columnist and film critic by the fictional character Georges Le Gloupier, created by a French journalist. He appropriated the character and made it an alter ego that symbolically fought against what he saw as pompous and self-important celebrities.
His pie-throwing violence began in 1969, when the French writer, feminist, and filmmaker Marguerite Duras became his first victim. Through his actions, Godin became known as l'Entarteur, or the pie thrower. His actions were always accompanied by the cry "Gloup! Gloup!", referring to Georges Le Gloupier.
'Hitting the power'
In 1998, Bill Gates, then the richest man in the world, visited Belgium. There he received a pie in the face from supporters of l'Internationale Pâtissière, an international movement of pie throwers inspired by Godin's actions. Godin said immediately afterwards: "My work is done."
Later, he said in the Belgian program Man bijt hond that Gates is in his own way "ruler of the world." He puts his wealth and power at the service of governments. So he is the ideal victim. With this person, we wanted to hit the power." Before the action, he and his supporters "drank courage with Trappist beer."
Among the best-known victims of Godin's pie actions are former French president Sarkozy, singer Bruel, and French director Jean-Luc Godard. Philosopher and journalist Bernard-Henri Lévy, however, took the crown: he was pied no less than seven times. According to Godin, Lévy was the epitome of an intellectual and media-savvy dandy.
Godin stated that his cream pies were a nonviolent form of protest and were not intended to physically hurt his victims. He targeted people he disagreed with or who had a lot of power. In the Belgian podcast De Wereld van Sofie, he said that "no one can escape the crème fraîche of the pie, no matter what security they have."
To the Belgian newspaper Nieuwsblad, he said in 2005 that in the future he also wanted to target Pope Benedict, Tony Blair, and Berlusconi. "If you throw a pie in someone's face, you see the true nature of that person in a few seconds."
Godin also inspired other activists worldwide, including climate activists. For example, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary was pelted with two cream pies in 2023 at the European Commission in Brussels. The women behind the action shouted: "Stop the pollution from your planes," before pelting him with the pies.
Poop pies
Celebrities in the Netherlands also had to endure it. In 1999, then Minister of Finance Gerrit Zalm received a pie in his face. Behind this action was the Dutch protest group TAART (Against Authoritarian Anti-Revolutionary Types), which had been inspired by Noël Godin's methods. Earlier, the group had also pelted VVD luminary Frits Bolkestein with a pie.
In 2002, during a book presentation in The Hague, politician Pim Fortuyn received a pie in his face. The three activists had filled the so-called 'poop pies' with various substances, including chicken manure. Each received a fine of 500 euros.
Godin revealed a little about his method in Man bijt hond. "The big secret: never throw the pie, but push it into the face. That's why we rarely miss. I am very unsporting: I just push the pie into the faces of celebrities."