Pizza Crimes

About

Pizza Crimes refer to images of pizza orders, experiments and cooking errors that internet users have dubbed disgraceful to the food and dish. They depict unorthodox pizza toppings, cooking styles and slice patterns that are widely perceived as malicious attacks on the pizza-loving community as a whole. They are particularly popular on Reddit and Twitter and are often featured in memes, especially image macros.

Origin

While pizza has been in existence since at least the early 19th century, so-called "crimes against pizza" were not acknowledged as taboo until the internet began to share images of pizza crimes in 2013. On October 17th, 2013, Twitter user @MaggieMcGilly posted a tweet about the pizza she’d mistakenly allowed to burn beyond recognition (seen below).^[1] This post was originally unpopular and received only six likes, but when BuzzFeed featured it in their article "30 Crimes Against Pizza By Drunk People," it gained notoriety and became the earliest recordable image referred to as a "pizza crime."^[2]

Spread

The subreddit /r/PizzaCrimes^[3] was created on December 29th, 2019. As of June 2021, it had over 65 thousand subscribers, known as "jury members." The most upvoted picture of a genuine pizza crime on the subreddit is entitled "R(post)eddit," uploaded by u/SpyCGL (seen below).^[4] With over 6,700 upvotes and 68 comments in three months, this image from Twitter depicts a pizza with extra crust.

Various pizza crimes have achieved viral fame as the term and catchphrase spread in the following months and years, with users expressing immense disapproval. Some of the most frequently debated examples are ones advertised by pizzerias as unique creations. For example, this new "midwest sushi" pizza dish developed by LoPiez Pizza was uploaded to /r/PizzaCrimes^[5] by u/LouisPei, entitled "Oof" (seen below). It received 32 upvotes and 11 comments in 10 days.

Related Memes

Pineapple on Pizza Debate

While pizza crimes are a separate trend from the pineapple on pizza debate, they are often related in online discourse. In many cases, an atrocious pizza concept is labeled and recognized as something that both pro-pineapple and anti-pineapple pizza can agree on as a disgrace to their favorite food.

Various Examples

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Search Interest

External References