Papa John's founder used the n-word on a conference call
If you haven't already, it's probably time to reconsider your trash pizza alliance: According to a report from Forbes, John Schnatter, the founder and former CEO of Papa John's, used the n-word during a conference call in May.
The call, which was between Schnatter and executives from the marketing agency Laundry Service, was reportedly a role-playing session aimed at preventing future Schnatter-related PR disasters. (Remember when he blamed bad sales on peaceful NFL protests? What a guy.)
That initiative was not a success, to say the least.
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Per Forbes, Schnatter responded to a question about distancing himself from racist trolls by pointing out that "Colonel Sanders [of Kentucky Fried Chicken] called blacks n——-s." Later in the call, he brought up his childhood in Indiana, where, he said, "people used to drag African-Americans from trucks until they died."
Unsurprisingly, Papa John's shares have taken a hit since news of the call broke. Laundry Service also broke off its relationship with the company. Lest you think any kind of justice has been served, though, Laundry Service recently had to lay off 10% of its employees — partially because it lost Papa John's as a client. There are no winners in this story, folks, only racism and terrible pizza.
Schnatter, for his part, confirmed the incident to Forbes on Wednesday. "News reports attributing the use of inappropriate and hurtful language to me during a media training session regarding race are true," he said. "Regardless of the context, I apologize. Simply stated, racism has no place in our society."
God, everything just gets worse by the day, doesn't it?
UPDATE: July 12, 2018, 3 p.m. AEST John Schnatter has resigned as chairman of the board for Papa John's, according to Reuters. Olivia Kirtley will act as lead independent director, and a new chairman will be appointed in the coming weeks.
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