On the May call, Schnatter was asked how he would distance himself from racist groups online. He responded by downplaying the significance of his NFL statement. “Colonel Sanders called blacks n-----s,” Schnatter allegedly said, before complaining that Sanders never faced public backlash.
Forbes reached out for a comment from Papa John's, and the company did not deny the incident, only issuing a statement full of platitudes about how racism is bad and how the company strives not to do racist things. Laundry Service since terminated their contract with Papa John's.Schnatter also reflected on his early life in Indiana, where, he said, people used to drag African-Americans from trucks until they died. He apparently intended for the remarks to convey his antipathy to racism, but multiple individuals on the call found them to be offensive, the source said. After learning about the incident, Laundry Service owner Casey Wasserman moved to terminate the company’s contract with Papa John’s.
Seems like the man might have to find another PR firm who wants to take on the mantle of digging him out of this brand new hole.In an emailed statement on Wednesday afternoon, Schnatter confirmed the allegations. "News reports attributing the use of inappropriate and hurtful language to me during a media training session regarding race are true," he said. "Regardless of the context, I apologize. Simply stated, racism has no place in our society."