After Causing An Uproar, Iceland’s President Says He Would Not Ban Pineapple Pizza

Employees add pineapple pieces to frozen pizzas at a production line in a Dr. Oetker pizza plant in Wittenburg, Germany, on December 8, 2015. Photo by: Jens B'ttner/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
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REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — Iceland’s president’s strong views on pizza have caused an international stir.

Gudni Th. Johannesson disclosed his opposition to pineapple on pizza to Icelandic high school students last week. Icelandic media reported that he said he’d ban the fruity topping if he could.

It proved Johannesson’s most controversial statement since he took up the largely ceremonial post last year.

Amid a social-media storm, Johannesson released a statement on Facebook, stressing that he does not have the power to ban pizza toppings, and is “glad that I do not hold such power.”

The former history professor says he “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.”

For pizza, however, “I recommend seafood.”

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  1. Honestly, I wish this country’s problems were as ridiculous as Iceland’s right now. I’d trade problems with Iceland in a heartbeat if I thought pineapple was the biggest outrage a country could have. Seriously, it sounds so quaint next to mass deportations and a religious test on people entering the country.

    Btw, I’m not a big fan of pineapple on pizza either…but my son loves it and swears by it. So really, FFS…to each their own.

  2. Now if Mr. Johannesson had said that about anchovies* there would be a problem.

    *speaking as one of exactly 42 people in the northern hemisphere that loves them salty little fishies.

  3. Avatar for darcy darcy says:

    Am also one of those 42. It got so bad with the family that I kept a glass jar of anchovies in the fridge. My sons would actually turn away if I bit into a slice with anchovies in front of them.

  4. It is too bad that the President of Iceland cannot ban pineapple on pizzas. It is for his people’s own good.

  5. Don’t back down! This man ought to be nominated for a Nobel Prize.

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