Cartoon of the Week: Papa John’s founder resigns as chairman

John Schnatter, founder and public face of pizza chain Papa John’s, resigned from his position as chairman of the boards after apologizing for using the N-word on a conference call in May.

According to Forbes, Schnatter used the racial slur while referring to Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Harland Sanders, stating “Colonel Sanders called blacks n——”.

He was participating in a role-playing exercise intended to prevent public relations crises, but it ironically ended up backfiring.

He complained at first that, unlike him, Sanders never faced public backlash, but then confirmed the allegations and apologized

“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.”

Following this incident, Schnatter also resigned from the board of trustees of the University of Louisville. The mayor of his hometown, Jeffersonville, Indiana, ordered his name removal from its local field even though he had donated hundreds of thousands of dollars last year.

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Brahim Jaouane

I am a Digital Marketing specialist specialized in SEO at eXo Platform. Passionate about new technologies and Digital Marketing. With 10 years' experience, I support companies in their digital communication strategies and implement the tools necessary for their success. My approach combines the use of different traffic acquisition levers and an optimization of the user experience to convert visitors into customers. After various digital experiences in communication agencies as well as in B2B company, I have a wide range of skills and I am able to manage the digital marketing strategy of small and medium-sized companies.