By Chandler Beon

The Mirror Staff

By Amanda Godfrey

The Mirror Staff

“I don’t like pineapples on pizza because they don’t fit the ingredients of pizza. It floods my mouth with fruitiness.” -Alan Vo

FEATURE

Pineapples on Pizza

FEATURE: And the great debate continues…

A striking photo of an open pizza box with a pineapple-less pizza, a 5 dollar refund, and the words “Couldn’t bring myself to put pineapple on it. That’s Gross, Sorry” written on the box has on the internet reignited the timeless debate of whether pineapples belong on pizza.

The simple question has been the most controversial trend relating to pizza ever to gain an such an immense amount of media attention.

Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to Twitter to express their love or hate about fruit on pizza. They use gifs, reaction images, and all sorts of pop culture references throughout social media.

Although the question was raised in the past, the controversy exploded when the President of Iceland, Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, jokingly declared to a group of high school students he would ban pineapples on pizza if he had the power to.

Twitter has been the battleground for the continuing dispute called the “Pineapple on Pizza Debate.”

Pineapple, along with either ham or Canadian bacon, is the main ingredient on Hawaiian pizza, which was invented by a Greek restauranteur in Canada in 1962 according to the Food Network.

Despite its origins in the frozen north, the dish has become a staple of American cuisine, served in nearly every pizza parlor.

Besides tomatoes, pineapples are the only other widely-accepted fruit topping and one of the top 10 favorite pizza toppings, according to a Harris Poll. The same poll also concluded that pineapples were the number three most despised toppings. Anchovies took the top spot.

The question of whether or not pineapple belongs on pizza has grabbed the attention of celebrities, news outlets and everyday people, all who seem to have a strong opinion.

“You don’t put f-ing pineapple on pizza,” boldly declared celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay on The Nightly Show, which airs in Great Britain.

Ramsay’s pronouncement caused Twitter to erupt, while traditional news platforms such as Fox News and The New York Times jumped into the fray, even taking their own polls to resolve the dispute. CNN’s internet poll showed that lovers were beating out haters 56% to 44%.

The pineapples on pizza controversy has divided students at Van Nuys High School as well.

Many students are quarrelling intensely over this question, which pits passionate pineapple lovers against pineapple haters, while some remain indifferent to the topping or prefer it with a certain meat.

Arguing over the presence of the tropical fruit on dough may seem harmless, but the internet demonstrates the extreme reactions on both sides.

Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, tweeted his support for Hawaiian pizza and triggered a stream of negative comments. People questioned his official power, claiming that his opinion would be used to make laws regarding pineapple pizza.

His opinion became so controversial that Prime Minister Trudeau apologized and clarified his statement in both English and Icelandic on a Facebook post.

Even the Icelandic President was forced to walk back his initial proclamation in a Facebook statement.