Pieing
Pieing is the act of hurling a pie, usually a light whipped cream confection, directly into a person's face or upper body to publicly humiliate the target while generally avoiding substantial physical harm.[1][2]
The practice traces its roots to slapstick comedy in the early 20th-century silent film industry, where it became a hallmark gag popularized by studios like Keystone, with early instances attributed to performers such as Mabel Normand throwing pies at colleagues like Ben Turpin around 1910.[2][3]
By the 1970s, pieing transitioned into a tool of political protest, employed by activists to symbolically degrade figures perceived as authoritarian or corrupt, as seen in the 1977 pieing of anti-gay campaigner Anita Bryant and subsequent attacks on politicians and executives by groups like the Biotic Baking Brigade.[4][5][6]
Though condemned by some as assault despite its non-lethal nature, pieing's enduring appeal lies in its blend of visual absurdity and targeted shaming, persisting in entertainment, activism, and even charitable fundraisers like ALS awareness events.[7][8]