Last week on July 11th Papa John himself resigned as Chairman of the Papa John board. The reason? Multiple blatantly racist remarks said on a conference call with other chairmen and a PR firm called Laundry Service.
He was quoted as saying, “Colonel Sanders called blacks n******.” Before continuing on to explain how his home town in Indiana used to drag black people from trucks until they died. John Schnatter’s comments come just a year after he was forced to resign as CEO of Papa John’s due to other controversial remarks, specifically heated comments directed towards the NFL and (unsurprising for a racist) the Take a Knee Protesters.
Laundry Service’s founder, Casey Wesserman quickly terminated their contract with Papa John’s after hearing about John’s racist remarks.
But Papa John’s is attempting to right his image, not by denying his own racism which would be hard since he admitted to his comments, but by blaming media and Laundry Service for “conspiring to ruin him.” Basically, the Papa is claiming Wesserman tattle tailed to Forbes and because of that he deserved compensation. But this “logic” would in act only be logical if it was worse to inform people of racism than to be a racist.
Clearly put, there is no Trumpian escape from this bad press for Schnatter, who even Papa John’s has attempted to distance themselves from, asking him to step back from social media and posting an open letter about the need for inclusive climates at all Papa John’s locations (store front and corporate).
Regardless, in a seeming attempt to stay relevant Schnatter has sent a letter to the board claiming it was a mistake to step down, and highlighting just how pressured he felt by the media.
It seems he has forgotten the true reason for his current situation: his own racism.
