In an interview with Bloomberg, the exiled founder of Papa John’s John Schnatter claimed that he sampled about 800 company pizzas in 18 months.
Schnatter made the claim when expressing disbelief at how poor the quality of pizzas have become since his exile in 2018 for using the n-word on a conference call. This supercedes his previous claim of having 40 pizzas in 30 days back in 2019 to confirm that "it just doesn't taste good.” “Some were burnt,” he said to Bloomberg. “Some were undercooked.”
He added that the only reason the company is still successful is because of the need for delivery that exploded during the pandemic. “It kind of makes me laugh at Rob Lynch,” Schnatter said of Papa John’s new CEO. “This guy is delusional. He has no idea how we built this company and the fundamentals. But he thinks its him. He really thinks that he’s done something magical.”
Schnatter has previously claimed that he was tricked into using the n-word on that final conference call, baited by racial questions put forth from Laundry Service CEO Jason Stein. “The chilling details from this taped conversation make clear the intent of Laundry Service to destroy my reputation, as well as the Papa John’s brand, harming our employees and franchisees in the process,” said Schnatter in a statement after the fallout.
“It’s time for Laundry Service to be held accountable, and for Papa John’s to correct the record and apologize to me for validating the media frenzy that led to my forced departure as the company Chairman.”
When asked for comment, the pizza chain told Bloomberg in a statement, “Papa John’s positive results over the past two years speak for themselves. We are proud of the company we have become and the diverse, inclusive and innovative culture we are creating.”
But more than three years later, Schnatter continues to reaffirm that he is not racist and that he was targeted by the “progressive elite left.” “They know what they did,” Schnatter told Bloomberg. “There’s a whole lot of shredding and computers getting thrown away right now at Papa John’s to make sure that if I do get back in, they don’t leave a paper trail.”
