CHIEF IS PAPA GONE

Resigns over race slur

Papa John’s founder John Schnatter resigned as the company’s chairman Wednesday night after revelations surfaced that he had made racist remarks during a conference call.

Forbes reported earlier Wednesday that Schnatter (inset) had used the N-word on the call in May.

The company released a statement stating that the directors had accepted Schnatter’s resignation.

“Papa John’s will appoint a new chairman in a couple of weeks,” the statement read.

He had already stepped down as chief executive in January after he caused controversy by claiming that NFL players taking the knee during the national anthem had hurt his company’s sales. Papa John’s was the league’s official pizza sponsor.

The call in which Schnatter used the slur was specifically designed as a role-playing exercise to prevent future public-relations disasters.

“Colonel Sanders called blacks n-----s,” Schnatter reportedly said, before complaining that Sanders never faced public backlash.

The call was between Papa John’s execs and marketing agency Laundry Service, Forbes reported.

Schnatter also reflected on his youth growing up in Indiana, claiming on the conference call that “people used to drag African-Americans from trucks until they died,” according to the Forbes report, which claimed he shared the story in a misguided effort to show his distaste for racism.

After reports of the comments were reported, the chain’s stock fell 4.9 percent Wednesday to $48.33 and Schnatter issued an apology.

“News reports attributing the use of inappropriate and hurtful language to me during a media-training session regarding race are true,” he said in a statement.

“Regardless of the context, I apologize. Simply stated, racism has no place in our society.”

While Laundry Service reps declined to comment, owner Casey Wasserman terminated the company’s contract with Papa John’s. People on the conference call were offended by Schnatter’s comments, according to reports.

Papa John’s issued a statement hours before Schnatter’s resignation stressing its commitment to diversity but not directly addressing the incident.

“Papa John’s condemns racism and any insensitive language,” the statement read.

“Diversity is an essential ingredient in our pursuit of providing a better product and better service to our customers and to the communities where we operate and live.

“We take great pride in the diversity of the Papa John’s family, though diversity and inclusion is an area where we will continue to strive to do better.”