Barely a week into office, newly elected New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has done the unthinkable, the unimaginable — and betrayed New Yorkers everywhere.
"He enjoyed a smoked mozzarella and sausage pie at Goodfellas on Staten Island Friday. ... Wait, wait, wait, wait. What is that? Is that a fork?"
"What's the right way to eat pizza?"
"We eat it with our hands."
"Like New Yorkers." (Via WABC)
"He eventually picked it up, folded it over and ate it with his hands, like a New Yorker is supposed to do." (Via News 12 Long Island)
That didn't seem to matter. Oh, yes, folks, this is a serious matter in the Big Apple, and so "forkgate" was born.
And it's spreading like wildfire across Twitter, with users joking:
"Team Obama wants to change message on Statue of Liberty: *Give me your tired, your poor, your forks and knives.*" (Via Twitter / @NYJooo)
"...the deblasio "scandal" #forkgate possibly the most controversial political action of 2014" (Via Twitter / @ArchangelMikeG)
The fork has even supposedly been framed. (Via Twitter / @jjk607)
But there are some coming to his defense.
"Oh, leave the guy alone. I eat pizza with a fork and, like Bloomberg, I salt it, too. Quality of life." (Via Twitter /@JeffJarvis)
Another wrote, "I, for one, am glad to have a mayor with some manners." (Via Twitter / @HoneyBee22274
But sometimes the excuse is just as important as the misstep — so what's de Blasio have to say for himself?
"In my ancestral homeland, it is more typical to eat with a fork and knife. And so I've been in Italy a lot, so I've picked up the habit for certain types of pizza. So when you have a pizza like this, it had a lot on it." (Via New York True)
But is a fork really the way to go? ABC investigated.
"We dug deep and discovered that there's something called Galateo, which is the authoritative Italian guide on table manners and how to eat food. ... And it says, 'Pizza si mangia usare le mani.'"
"You eat it with your hands."
Well, to each his own, right? But we will leave you with this:
*How to eat a pizza Italian-style* (Via YouTube / theculinaryangency)
