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John Schnatter, the founder of Papa John’s, is facing controversy after allegedly using a racial slur earlier this week. According to reports, Papa John himself decided to drop the n-word during a conference call back in May. The revelation comes not long after Schnatter made himself a figure in the NFL’s national anthem protest debate by claiming the protests were negatively impacting his pizza sales.
But this time, his own words are being used against him.
In a call that was with a company named Laundry Service, Schnatter was reportedly talking about public relations issues when he decided to discuss KFC founder Colonel Sander’s use of the n-word. As a result, he used the word himself and then used a bizarre reference about his upbringing and dragging people of color from cars.
From a Forbes report:
On the May call, Schnatter was asked how he would distance himself from racist groups online. He responded by downplaying the significance of his NFL statement. “Colonel Sanders called blacks n—–s,” Schnatter allegedly said, before complaining that Sanders never faced public backlash.
Schnatter also reflected on his early life in Indiana, where, he said, people used to drag African-Americans from trucks until they died. He apparently intended for the remarks to convey his antipathy to racism, but multiple individuals on the call found them to be offensive, the source said.
Papa John’s has yet to respond to the allegations or issue a denial.
