John Schnatter, the ousted founder and leader of Papa John's International, Inc., railed into the pizza chain's new chief in a scathing rant and said he was set up.
The 58-year-old who remains a shareholder of the Louisville, Kentucky-based restaurant alleged that those he once trusted in running the company conspired against him.
During an interview with WDRB, a local news station from Kentucky, Schnatter said that current executives for the restaurant should be jailed.
"I never dreamed that people that I cared about, that I loved, that I made multimillionaires, would do what they did."
You can watch portions of the viral interview in this YouTube clip, below.
Ousted Papa John's founder: The pizza doesn't taste as goodyoutu.be
He also claimed the quality of the pizza took a nosedive since he stepped down on January 1, 2018.
Schnatter said:
"I've had over 40 pizzas in the last 30 days, and it's not the same pizza."
"It's not the same product. It just doesn't taste as good."
"The way they're making the pizza is just not fundamental to what makes a Papa John's pizza."
The amount of his pizza consumption stunned Twitter.
The perspiration on his face and the strange crevice under his nose did not go unnoticed.
Some showed concern for Schnatter's health...
...while others rose to the occasion in attempting the 40-pizza gorge-fest under one condition.
The controversial entrepreneur was famously slammed for his use of the n-word.
The slur came after being asked how he would avoid racist groups during an internal conference call with marketing agency Laundry Service in May 2018. He responded to a question about minimizing the fallout from his NFL statement where he blamed declining pizza sales on the League for their involvement in the national anthem protests.
For some reason, Schnatter thought it was a good time to throw out the n-word.
"Colonel Sanders called blacks n*****s and Sanders never faced public outcry."
Company insiders used his racist comment as an opportunity to get rid of the company founder.
Schnatter even outed the people he felt betrayed him – including Steve Ritchie – who he handpicked as a replacement before they became estranged.
"Steve Ritchie, Olivia Kirtley, the board of directors all used the black community and race as a way to steal the company. They stole the company, and now they've destroyed the company."
Former Arby's President Rob Lynch became the new CEO of Papa John's in August.
Under Lynch's new leadership, shares have increased by 28% and improved quarterly sales began pulling the company out of a sales slump.
But Schnatter said Lynch was never a CEO and that he lacks credentials.
"He has never been a CEO. He has no pizza experience. He has never been in the pizza category."
"He doesn't really know quality. Probably most important, he doesn't have a passion for people."
He continues resenting the Papa John's and doesn't plan on taking over again any time soon.
"My metaphor is: There's no reason to be in the car when the car crashes even if you love the car."
He concluded the interview by predicting his successors will get their just desserts.
"Stay tuned. The day of reckoning will come. The record will be straight."
@kileywrestling/Bluesky
