Iceland's president wants to ban pineapple as a pizza topping, sparks online debate

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iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Apparently, this qualifies as big news in Iceland.  The country’s president, Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, has stirred up controversy by coming down against pineapple as a pizza topping.

While speaking to a high school class in Iceland last week, a student asked Jóhannesson what he thought about the tropical fruit as a pizza topping, typically associated with Hawaiian pizza, which features pineapple and ham. Jóhannesson said that he was against it and if he had the power, he would ban pineapple as a pizza topping altogether.

Iceland Magazine
reports that Jóhannesson’s comment has gone viral, reaching the top 10 trending stories on Reddit and making its way to news outlets around the world.  It’s also prompted him to issue a clarification about his comments.

In a Facebook post, Jóhannesson wrote, “I like pineapples, just not on pizza. I do not have the power to make laws which forbid people to put pineapples on their pizza. I am glad that I do not hold such power. Presidents should not have unlimited power. I would not want to hold this position if I could pass laws forbidding that which I don´t like. I would not want to live in such a country.”

He then suggested people put seafood on their pizza instead.

Chances are slim anyone’s genuinely upset with Jóhannesson, who enjoys a 97 percent approval rating in his country.

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