Founder of Papa John’s claims he was set up

Papa John has gone scorched earth on the company he built.

John Schnatter, the founder and former public face of Papa John’s, claimed the company’s board of directors conspired to oust him as chief executive in a loaded interview with WDRB. Schnatter resigned from Papa John’s in July 2018 after he admitted to using a racial slur on a company conference call. But 16 months later, Schnatter has changed his tune, saying insiders set him up and that the whole incident was “fabricated.”

It is unclear what he believes the fabrication was, given that he confirmed what he said on the call.

“I never dreamed that people that I cared about, that I loved, that I made multimillionaires, would do what they did,” Schnatter told WDRB. “Shame on them.”

Papa John’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Washington Post.

Schnatter used the racial slur during a call between Papa John’s executives and the marketing agency Laundry Service in May 2018, Forbes reported. The group was doing a role-playing exercise meant to prepare for public relations challenges, and Schnatter was asked how he would separate himself from racist groups online. Schnatter reportedly said that Colonel Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, never received backlash for using the slur. He also described graphic violence against black people, although he said his intention was to convey his hatred of racism.

But at the time, Schnatter took ownership of what he said.

“I can’t talk like that even if it’s confidential and it’s behind closed doors,” Schnatter told WHAS in Louisville, Ky., after he resigned. “I did it. And I own it. And I’m sorry. And I’m sick about it, frankly.”

Schnatter started Papa John’s in 1984 with a pizza oven in the back of his father’s tavern in Indiana. As the business grew to a chain with more than 5,000 locations, Schnatter’s persona remained central to the company. It took a significant hit after his departure: Same-store sales slumped, the company’s shares plummeted, and it lost big partnerships with Major League Baseball and several sports teams.