DRIVING FORCE

Volkswagen Shareholder Meeting Derailed By Topless Protester, Flying Cake

Activists raised hell over the car company’s factory in China’s Xinjiang province at its annual meeting with chairman Hans Dieter Pötsch forced to dodge a pastry projectile.

Activists went wild at Volkswagen’s annual shareholder meeting in Berlin Wednesday, sending an unidentified cake-like object flying, waving banners, and gluing themselves to the ground of the square outside the building. One woman, topless with the words “Dirty Money” scribbled on her back, shouted at CEO Oliver Blume as he delivered a speech before security rushed to pull her away. When he took the podium, board chairman Hans Dieter Pötsch had to dodge what seemed to be an airborne pastry, reportedly aimed at board member Wolfgang Porsche. The protest erupted over the motor manufacturer’s factory in China’s Xinjiang province and accusations of using Uyghur forced labor. Volkswagen swears there is no evidence of human rights violations at its Xinjiang vehicle plant. The company placed a short pause on the shareholding meeting before resuming soon after.