You've seen Papa John's face in countless commercials, but what do you really know about
the man behind the pizza?
The guy you see in the commercials isn't an actor.
He's John Schnatter, and he really is the founder and one-time CEO of one of the biggest
pizza chains in the country.
He's also found himself embroiled in some pretty big controversies, including one that
led to him leaving the company.
Here are some things you might not know he's been up to lately.
Blaming the NFL
In 2017, Papa John's started down a very rocky road.
After record profits in 2016, they released less-than-stellar financial reports for the
third quarter of 2017.
Shares dropped 11 percent after the numbers went public, and the net worth of Papa John
himself dropped $70 million.
Forbes said he was still worth around $801 million, but he took the loss personally.
According to Schnatter, the losses were the fault of the NFL and their inability to resolve
the controversy around players kneeling during the national anthem.
Papa John's was the official pizza sponsor of the NFL, after all, and more in-depth reports
on ESPN showed just how much Schnatter blamed the NFL for his company's failings.
He didn't pull any punches, going on record as saying:
"Leadership starts at the top, and this is an example of [the NFL's] poor leadership."
Not long after, the long-standing relationship between Papa John's and the NFL came to an
abrupt end.
"Brutal, actually.
Stick to pizza."
Official pizza of the alt-right?
Schnatter's spat with the NFL opened a whole can of ugly worms.
It was only days later that neo-Nazi site The Daily Stormer published a piece on how
Schnatter's accusations and opinions would make Papa John's a perfect candidate for becoming
the official pizza of the alt-right.
According to Business Insider, Schnatter's comments on the NFL protests aren't the only
thing that endeared him to the alt-right, citing his donations to Donald Trump's presidential
campaign and his condemnation of Obamacare as other contributing factors.
Not surprisingly, Papa John's went into damage control mode, with an official statement to
The Huffington Post from Peter Collins, senior director of public relations.
It read, in part,
"We condemn racism in all forms and any and all hate groups that support it.
We do not want these individuals or groups to buy our pizza."
Stepping down as CEO
After 2017 proved to be a rough year for Schnatter, he announced he would be stepping down from
his position as CEO in 2018.
The move came on the heels of controversy, but according to the Chicago Sun-Times, the
Papa John's camp is keeping mum on whether or not the controversy is the reason he decided
to step down in favor of longtime COO Steve Ritchie, or if there are other things going
on behind the scenes.
Ritchie also refused to comment on the reasons behind the shake-up, simply saying,
"[It's] the right time to make this change."
He also added that Schnatter would still be the face of the company and chairman of the
board... but that didn't last long.
Resigning from the board
On July 10th, 2018, John Schnatter admitted to using some toxic language during a conference
call with a marketing company just a few months prior.
Ironically, the call was to address the backlash Papa John's was still facing, and Schnatter
shocked listeners when he was asked how he would distance himself from racist groups.
A source told Forbes he responded by using racial slurs, which he claimed were intended
to prove his stance against racism.
They had the opposite effect.
The marketing company soon ended their relationship with Papa John's, who themselves scrambled
to end their relationship with Schnatter, and Schnatter admitted it was all true in
a statement to Business Insider, saying,
"News reports attributing the use of inappropriate and hurtful language to me during a media
training session regarding race are true.
Regardless of the context, I apologize.
Simply stated, racism has no place in our society."
The ill-fated conference call still marked the end of his role as chairman of the board,
and he stepped down soon after.
Papa John sues Papa John's
In July 2018, the company was sued by its founder and namesake.
Schnatter filed a lawsuit that claimed many things, including that the company denied
him access to records and treated him unfairly.
Forbes was also mentioned in the lawsuit, with Schnatter claiming the news outlet had
"falsely accused him of using a racial slur."
Schnatter admitted that the slur had come from his mouth, but his attorney stressed
there was a difference between using it and quoting someone else who had used it… which
is what he claimed to have been doing.
The lawsuit also claimed there was some shady business going on behind the closed doors
of the boardroom, and that the company had "planned this coup in advance."
Those are some serious accusations, and when Forbes reached out to the company, they responded:
"We are saddened and disappointed that John Schnatter has filed a needless and wasteful
lawsuit in an attempt to distract from his own words and actions."
Universities are cutting ties
Schnatter's remarks have had some far-reaching consequences, and those consequences are perhaps
best seen in the damaged relationship between the pizza giant and one-time associate of
the University of Louisville.
U of L announced in July 2018 that they would be renaming their Papa John's Cardinal Stadium
to simply Cardinal Stadium, and they weren't the only ones to sever ties with the pizza-maker.
The University of Kentucky, Morehouse College, and Oregon State all ended their associations
with Papa John's.
Schnatter's own college, Ball State, has also seen some major controversy over whether or
not his name should stay, proving once and for all that sometimes, an apology just doesn't
cut it.