Pie in the face

Pieing is the act of throwing a pie at a person or people. Non-consensual pieing is a punishable offence in criminal law, and depending on jurisdiction is a battery but may also constitute an assault. Non-consensual pieing may also be actionable as a civil wrong (tort) resulting in the victim of the pieing to recover damages in a lawsuit from the tortfeasor.

Although pieing may be intended as a simple practical joke, it can be a political action when the target is an authority figure, politician, or celebrity and can be used as a means of protesting against the target's political beliefs, or against perceived arrogance or vanity. Perpetrators generally regard the act as a form of ridicule to embarrass and humiliate the victim.

In pieing, the goal is usually to humiliate the victim while avoiding actual injury. For this reason the pie is traditionally of the cream variety without a top crust, and is rarely if ever a hot pie. In Britain, a pie in the context of throwing is traditionally referred to as a custard pie. An aluminum pie pan or paper plate filled with whipped cream or shaving foam can substitute for a real pie.

Pieing and pie fights are a staple of slapstick comedy, and pie "tosses" are also common charity fundraising events, especially in schools. Pieing is also particularly popular in Brazil, where it is known as "torta na cara" and is featured prominently on the Brazilian game show Passa ou Repassa on Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão and Agora Torta ("Now Pie") as well as in a very large number of YouTube videos (several per day) uploaded by Brazilian channels.

Pieing has its origins in the "pie in the face" gag from slapstick comedy, first seen in the 1909 Essanay Studios silent film Mr. Flip starring Ben Turpin. In the story, Turpin has a pie pushed into his face for taking liberties with a woman.

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