Noël Godin, a Belgian anarchist and entertainer renowned for his distinctive brand of political and cultural protest involving throwing cream pies at public figures, died on August 23 at the age of 80. His partner, actress Sylvie Broodthaers, confirmed his passing but did not provide further details.

Godin made a career out of pieing prominent personalities—business leaders, politicians, and artists alike—targeting individuals such as Bill Gates, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard. Operating under the name of the International Patisserie Brigade, Godin and his group of accomplices, often referred to as "custard commandos," conducted carefully planned pie attacks they called entartements. They employed high-quality pastries with soft crusts, aiming to undermine their targets’ dignity rather than cause physical harm.

He was known for a strict ethical code in selecting his targets: individuals seen as wealthy or pompous, rather than vulnerable or harmless celebrities. One frequent target was French public intellectual Bernard-Henri Lévy, who was pied on multiple occasions, and whose confrontations with Godin were marked by hostility.

Godin described his practice as a form of direct subversion and satire, carried out with theatrical flair. His pie attack on Bill Gates in Brussels in 1998 involved over 30 participants and multiple pies, with Gates ultimately declining to press charges, citing only dissatisfaction with the dessert quality.

Born on September 13, 1945, in Liège, Belgium, Godin’s rebellious streak emerged early, notably in Catholic school where he frequently challenged authority figures. He was expelled from the University of Liège after a protest involving glue aimed at a right-wing professor. Influenced by the political upheaval of the late 1960s, particularly the Paris student uprisings in 1968, Godin embraced an anarchistic philosophy that remained central to his work throughout his life.

In addition to his theatrical protests, Godin worked as a writer and filmmaker. He published on film theory and radical history, directed short films, and had acting roles in works by close collaborators. His home was known for its eclectic and disorderly nature, filled with thousands of slapstick comedy films—reflecting his lifelong affection for humor as a tool of dissent.

Godin resisted offers of payment to pie specific celebrities, emphasizing his commitment to independence and the symbolic nature of his actions. He described his group as “freebooters” and “pirates with pies,” intent on maintaining the subversive spirit of their work rather than turning it into a commercial enterprise.

Information about surviving family has not been disclosed. Godin once said he chose not to have children, citing the responsibility such a decision entailed in a world he viewed as bleak and tragic.