John Schnatter, the founder of the Papa John's pizza restaurant chain, was mocked after he declared his pizza tasted better than his competitors' because he instilled it with "conservative values."
Schnatter made the remark in an interview at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dallas on Thursday, August 4, saying quality and the culture of the restaurant chain is now on par "with Little Caesars."
Though he didn't offer much in the way of logic or reasoning, Schnatter appeared to suggest whoever is in charge of Papa John's since he was forced to step down amid outrage over a racial slur he uttered during a conference call is far too liberal for the pizza to be any good.
You can hear what he said in the video below.
\u201cAt CPAC today, John Schnatter says Papa Johns had the best pizza out there every year when he was in charge, because he instilled \u201cconservative values\u201d of \u201ctruth and God.\u201d But since he was fired as CEO for repeatedly using the N-word, it has gone down hill.\u201d— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1659643985
Schnatter said:
“We built the whole company on conservative values."
"Conservative ideology has two of the most critical attributes: truth and God."
“If you run your life on principle… you’re going to win.”
It was an oddball claim, one that opened Schnatter up to significant mockery online.
\u201cIt was the racism that made the pizza good apparently according to Papa John\u201d— ElonMusksHairPlugs (@ElonMusksHairPlugs) 1659712935
\u201c"Conservative values" and "truth and god" are not ingredients (how sad is it that one has to explain this in 2022) \nIt's the culinary equivalent of "thoughts and prayers"\nTry going on a diet of it and you'll meet your maker under a week!\u201d— Nat\u00e1lia, i am an army of one! (@Nat\u00e1lia, i am an army of one!) 1659693063
\u201cBecause everyone knows the best pizza is topped with an extra helping of N-words \ud83c\udf55 \ud83d\ude0f\u201d— 614ortyNiner (@614ortyNiner) 1659700670
\u201cTheir pizza has always been terrible.\u201d— Tom Enjoys Coffee \u2615 (@Tom Enjoys Coffee \u2615) 1659704519
\u201cNo chain has the best pizza. But, his was gross.\u201d— Queen Thicktoria, Esq. Stands with Ukraine (@Queen Thicktoria, Esq. Stands with Ukraine) 1659705116
\u201cI don't know how many other pizza connoisseurs there are out there, but I've had pizza in Italy, Sicily, and everywhere in America including Chicago & New York, and coast-to-coast. Papa John's was never in any universe the best pizza out there.\u201d— Bob Liepelt (Democracy Defender) \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udf0a (@Bob Liepelt (Democracy Defender) \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udf0a) 1659707270
\u201cThat pizza always tastes like cardboard intolerance mixed with a thin sauce.\u201d— T.Biggs (@T.Biggs) 1659710259
\u201cNope. PJ's was ghastly pizza then, now it's just ghastly pizza w/o a racist in charge. #PapaJohns\u201d— Markus Aurelius (@Markus Aurelius) 1659677762
\u201cNever ever, have I tasted his racist fascist pizza. And how many freaking CPAC\u2019s can these freaks hold?\u201d— Brenda Gleason\u262e\ufe0f (@Brenda Gleason\u262e\ufe0f) 1659702481
\u201cThere are so many choices for pizza one needs to never buy Papa John\u2019s.\u201d— Donna Still \u262e\ufe0f (@Donna Still \u262e\ufe0f) 1659707774
Schnatter courted significant controversy in 2017, when he blamed the National Football League (NFL) for poor financial performance, saying, "The NFL has hurt us ... We are disappointed the NFL and its leadership did not resolve this," referring to the football players who were at the time refusing to stand for the national anthem ahead of games to protest racial injustice and police brutality.
At the time, Papa John's had a marketing agreement to be the NFL's "official pizza company" and Schnatter expressed outrage that the protests would hurt sales.
Schnatter resigned in disgrace shortly afterward, when remarks he made during a conference call—in which he used the n-word to draw comparisons between comments made by Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) founder Colonel Sanders and backlash over his remarks about national anthem protests—became public.
He later defended his use of the n-word, saying he did so to convey his hatred of racism and was quoting someone else. He insisted "a day of reckoning" would come for the pizza chain he founded, declaring quality nosedived after he left.
