Gates gets
creamed
By Margie Wylie
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: February 4, 1998, 1:00 PM PST
In Brussels, Belgium, to visit European Union officials, the
Microsoft chairman was struck in the face with a cream pastry--a
cake or possibly a pie--as he was entering a government building to
give a speech on education.
The prankster escaped, but one accomplice and a cameraman were
taken into custody and later released after Belgian prankster Noel
Godin appeared on television to take responsibility for the
attack.
Gates will not press charges, according to a Microsoft
spokeswoman.
Godin, a fun-loving anarchist, has made a name for himself
targeting the rich, famous, and pompous with cream pies. His
exploits have become so renowned that a French word has been coined
to describe the act of being creamed: entarter.
Perhaps one of the most famous men in the French-speaking world,
Godin himself is called "L'entarteur," or "the Pieman." He often
appears on TV shows and films and is an author of a book about his
exploits.
Those who take Godin's public creamings with good humor are never
bothered again. However, L'entarteur has been known to repeatedly
target people who react with ill humor to his antics, what he calls
the "revolt of laughter."
In the wake Microsoft's
The pieman cometh for Gates
investigation for antitrust violations, Gates has made a concerted
public relations push to come across as a regular, easy going guy
who can take a joke.
Starting at Comdex in Las Vegas last November, Gates began
screening videotaped parodies of himself at his frequent speeches.
He has said in interviews that Microsoft's haughty, defiant image
is the fault of the press. The company is "humble" and "respectful"
before the law. He even broke into song in a recent interview with
Barbara Walters.
However, the billionaire, who is said to dislike even a touch from
strangers, didn't seem to take the joke as well when he wasn't the
one making it. He appeared shaken and angry as he rushed from the
site of the creaming.
"Oddly enough, [Godin] apparently complained that [Gates] didn't
react strongly enough," the Microsoft spokeswoman said.
"This incident is very unfortunate, especially in light of the
types of things Bill is trying to do," she added. "He later made a
joke about how the cream didn't even taste that good." Only time
will tell if that's good humored enough for the cream puff
catapulting Godin.
*taken from: http://www.news.com/2100-1023-207832.html
