Does Pineapple Belong on Pizza? The President of Iceland Doesn't Think So.


Susmita Baral
Feb 24, 2017
Pineapple Pizza
(Image credit: natalia bulatova/Shutterstock)

Pizza can be a very divisive issue. (Just ask New Yorkers and Chicagoans.) If regional styles weren't dramatic enough, pizza toppings are now under scrutiny by international leaders. Or, at least, a politician from one Nordic island nation.

Iceland's President had some choice words about pineapple as a pizza topping this week. Spoiler alert: He's not about it. While visiting a high school, Icelandic president, Gudni Thorlacius Jóhannesson, was asked by a student if he liked pineapple on his pizza. After saying he was "firmly opposed" to the fruit as a topping, Jóhannesson suggested he would be open to banning it from ever being served as a pizza topping.

Pineapple is most popular as a topping for "Hawaiian pizza," which, incidentally, is the brainchild of a Greek-Canadian retired chef based in Ontario. Atlas Obscura reports that the concept was conceived by Sam Panopoulos in 1962, just a few years after Hawaii became a state and while it still had its novelty.

Not surprisingly, Jóhannesson's comment ignited a debate on social media about pizza toppings, pineapples, and the government's role in moderating pizza. And then things got hilariously more serious: A petition called for Jóhannesson to resign for his "extreme views" on the matter and the leader had to issue a statement backtracking on his words.

"I like pineapples, just not on pizza,"Jóhannesson says in a Facebook post.

We can all agree he lost credibility with the last line.

What do you think? Does pineapple belong on pizza? Does seafood belong on pizza? Let us know in the comments.
