Papa John’s Founder and Ex-CEO Ate 40 Pizzas in 30 Days to Confirm ‘It Just Doesn’t Taste as Good’

That's a lot of pizza, Papa.

Pizza John
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Image via Getty/Steven Ferdman

Pizza John

John Schnatter, who will now perhaps best be known for eating over 40 pizzas in 30 days, talked candidly about his post-Papa John's life in a recent interview that (of course) is currently being excerpted and memed into oblivion.

In short, Schnatter—the founder and ex-CEO of the pizza chain who resigned from his chairman position in July 2018 after using the N-word on a conference call—said he believes he was conspired against and argued that the whole thing was "a farce" designed to boot him from the company. Schnatter alleged that company leaders "used the black community and race as a way to steal the company," claiming the comments he made during the conference call in question were somehow intended to be a condemnation of racism.

"I never dreamed that people that I cared about, that I loved, that I made multimillionaires, would do what they did," Schnatter toldWDRB.

The Papa John interview is lovely pic.twitter.com/bpDMDm9t9G

— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) November 26, 2019

Schnatter was also critical of Rob Lynch, the Arby's alum who's the current CEO of Papa John's. "He's never been a CEO," he said. "He has no pizza experience. He's never been in the pizza category. He doesn't really have a passion for quality."

Now, Schnatter said, Papa John's is a "miserable place" serving food that he's personally and prolifically assessed in recent days as having shown a downturn in quality.

"I've had over 40 pizzas in the last 30 days and it's not the same pizza," he said, inadvertently creating one hell of a pull quote. "It's not the same product. It just doesn't taste as good."

Catch the full interview, which also sees Schnatter discussing a pizza-centered "day of reckoning," right here.

But you're not getting the full experience here without the ensuing tweeted commentary. So, enjoy:

Papa John has unlocked the level of Doing Perfectly Fine where he's somehow chopped-and-screwed his own voice. Looking forward to his next act! https://t.co/VXA88rYTBU

— David Roth (@david_j_roth) November 26, 2019

papa john has fucking HAD IT https://t.co/6khz6avpSL

— chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) November 26, 2019

40 pizzas in 30 days sounds like the name of a beloved children's book. And what's more, one of the most beloved characters would be Papa John. So I thank the lord for these gifts.

— david cross✍ (@davidcrosss) November 26, 2019

With the sound off, this just looks like an ad for Hell. https://t.co/wMhYWTZoyS

— Elizabeth Banks ❄️ (@ElizabethBanks) November 26, 2019

he looks like the alien in Men In Black who wants the sugar water. https://t.co/6amjt9wJp5

— Akilah Hughes (@AkilahObviously) November 26, 2019

You: why is Papa John sweating grease?

Papa John: I’ve had over 40 pizzas in the last 30 days

You: ok that tracks https://t.co/XTSOj5Gal6

— feitelberg (@FeitsBarstool) November 26, 2019

I wish there was a way to watch this with the mouthsounds off https://t.co/7pPVRjCXjZ

— Sarah Silverman (@SarahKSilverman) November 26, 2019

40 pizzas in 30 days >>>> 5 beats a day for 3 summers https://t.co/75cAbZqlh8

— Desus MFing Nice💯 (@desusnice) November 26, 2019

take this down now!!! pizza men only do this when they are VERY DEPRESSED. https://t.co/1TTwgUjdBm

— Alex Navarro (@alex_navarro) November 26, 2019

papa john did this interview immediately after crawling out of a deep fryer. https://t.co/fvxv5j4cuj

— 🎃Maggie Serota (@maggieserota) November 26, 2019

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