Gigi Becali

About

George Becali is a Romanian politician. As a public figure, he has been the subject of numerous parodies in various media, including photos, videos, and songs created all over the Romanian-speaking web.

Background

George Becali (commonly known in Romania as Gigi Becali) is a controversial Romanian politician and businessman, mostly known for his involvement in the Steaua Bucharest football club.

Becali has been known for quite some time as having an eccentric personality, expressed through his unique laughter, the gestures he makes with his hands while talking, and his use of the expression "pac-pac" when talking about money, all of which are widely imitated in Romania for the purpoise of humour.

Prior to becoming one of Romania's richest men, Becali herded sheep. This humble beginning is often the subject of satire.

Becali has made a show of his wealth, "fixing" his 500000 euro Maybach with a crowbar, as shown by Realitatea TV in late 2005 – early 2006:

Memetic Spread

One of the most exploited moments was his outburst on TV Sport, in the spring of 2006, when for the first time people could see him laugh – and boy, did he laugh:

2006 wasn't over yet and he made the spotlight again, this time laughing almost non-stop for 6 minutes, being one of the guests on a B1 TV talk show, "Naşul":

It wasn't long before TV comedy shows were exploiting this, like here from the "Mondenii" show:

They even made a song in 2009, "Where my Sheeps (pac pac)", a parody of the 50 Cent song "P.I.M.P":

TV host Mircea Badea parodied Becali's attempt of singing "God protect the Romanians" during a political rally, hardened by the fact that the microphones weren't working:

There was also an "episode" back in 2006-2007 when he insulted a journalist from the Antena 1 television channel via telephone, using a great variety of Romanian profanity, this language being infamous for the rawness and diversity of its profanity; you probably won't understand a word but i'll post this anyway:

Have no fear, because the political satyre newspaper "Academia Catavencu", on the 2009 European Parliament accession of Becali, translated this famous "speech", to ease the acquaintance with the newcomer. WARNING – this might not be safe for work:

Speaking of Romanian profanity, the Romanian slang word for penis is "pula". Why do i have to share this with you, you ask? Well because in Botswana "pula" means rain, and is the name of their national currency:

The YouTube user MaFomedanu made this parody song about Gigi Becali, named "Dau Euro (i give euros) sheep remix", a refference to an episode in wich Becali, also known for his strong religious convictions, went into a night club and promised to give a large sum of money to whoever knew the prayer "The Crede" and could recite it. It is overlapped on the song "A la lujeba" by the Romanian pop band Morandi:

On April 2, 2009 George Becali was arrested over illegally holding 3 people against their will, because he suspected they were involved in stealing his car. He was arrested for 29 days, but he got out of jail after 15 days. Although he escaped jail, it was parody he couldn't escape:

And, he's at it again with the laughing outburst. This time, aware of his funny laugh, he said to the guy talking to him via telephone: "We are two crazy people laughing on TV, you half crazy, and me – 100% crazy"

And… again: