Qantas CEO Alan Joyce attacked with pie over marriage equality
THE man who smashed a pie into the face of Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has revealed he did so to protest the airline’s pro-marriage equality stance.
Tony Overheu walked onto the stage during Joyce’s speech at a business breakfast in Perth and pushed a lemon meringue pie into the openly gay CEO’s face.
Overheu, a former farmer, labelled Qantas’ stance as “corporate bullying aimed at social engineering” in a statement to 6PR.
The statement continues:
Qantas is insulting many staff and passengers with their boarding pass propaganda.
What Airbnb is doing in Canberra airport is highly offensive.
Outfits like Wesfarmers and Holden loose huge credibility supporting such campaigns.
The blatant bullying and extortion of Coopers Brewery was totally reprehensible.
CEO’s need to respect Australia is a democracy where backdoor attempts to subvert
the clear wishes of the overwhelming majority will cost companies bottom lines.
Allan Joyce is paid $13 million to run airlines not bulldoze Australia socially against its will.
Police have charged the man with providing false details, but not with assault.
When asked about the specific choice of pie, he said, “Lemon Meringue appeared to be the softest and least likely to do any injury.”
“Alan Joyce is a very active individual in this process [towards marriage equality] and in that context he was appropriate [to target].”
Overheu also slammed Airbnb’s marriage equality campaign currently
Overheu has reportedly emailed Joyce to apologise for his behaviour.
“It was a very serious action to take and if it was going to be an effective statement, then it needed to be done in a manner that hit target, in a sense, without causing any injury,” he said.
Just.equal spokesperson spokesperson, Ivan Hinton-Teoh, slammed Overheu’s actions in a statement.
“The assault against Mr Joyce has no place in Australian political debate and has damaged the credibility of the entire movement against marriage equality,” he said.
“There is a clear link between the outrageous, fear-based campaigns being run by anti-LGBTI groups and the assault against Mr Joyce, a link that these groups must be held accountable for.”
Hinton-Teoh called on Peter Dutton to accept partial responsibility for the incident after Dutton’s recent condemnation of business leaders for supporting marriage equality.
“Mr Dutton may not have thrown the pie but his comments created a climate of resentment and loathing towards business leaders who support marriage equality,” Hinton-Teoh said.
“He has a responsibility to make it clear that all civil and respectful voices have a valued place in the marriage equality debate.”
UPDATE: In a press conference today, Joyce stated that he has intentions of pressing charges against Overheu.
Anita Bryant deserved her pie, and all the misfortune that came her way. I hope Mr Overheu has the book thrown at him. It makes me angry that people like him feel entitled to do that and then play the victim how dare he say he feel bullied, he has probably never faced discrimination or bullying in his life.
Can’t you just see the Christian love in his face?
This was Australia’s Anita Bryant moment, with a few differences. Anita Bryant was a famous singer who made her home in Florida in the 1970s. A pie was shoved in her face at a similar venue to Joyce’s, but she was speaking against gay people in what she called her “Save Our Children” campaign. She went on to lose her singing career with Florida Orange juice and is now holed up in Branson, Missouri, where she is a small-time venue singer. Overheu’s pie-wielding days might be numbered. But this might be the moment when the tide turns in Australia. Granting people rights through popular vote seems wrong headed to me, so I hope the majority support LGBT rights.
Disgraceful behaviour by an obnoxious twerp. Charge him with assault. And remember when we’re campaigning for marriage equality, maintain the moral high ground and don’t stoop to the level of bozos like this.