RTThu, 02 Aug 2018 15:08 UTC
© Joe Raedle / Reuters
The management of the Kentucky-based pizza chain Papa John's has reportedly sent instructions to owners of its outlets
to remove all the mentions of the company founder and former chairman John Schnatter.
The move comes shortly after Schnatter was forced to resign as a chairman of the company after he used a racial slur during a May conference call
dedicated to the prevention of future public relations scandals.
The N-word incident was first published by
Forbes magazine. Schnatter says his comment was
taken out of context and that he was making reference to KFC founder Colonel Sanders who had "called blacks n****s" and had never faced public backlash.
Managers at 5,212 locations of the pizza chain now have to wipe off Schnatter's signature from the paddles used to take pizzas out of the oven and replace them with images of cheese and vegetables, according to the seven-page email first seen by the
New York Post. A total of 10 items, including window signs featuring the smiling founder's image, a wall poster of Schnatter and NFL quarterback Peyton Manning, and signage on pickup trucks should reportedly be erased.
Papa John's wants its franchisees to remove wall posters with Schnatter describing how their pizzas are cooked and put photos of a dough maker with the caption "our FRESH DOUGH story" instead. The store owners may reportedly replace images of Schnatter standing next to his favorite gold Camaro with either a picture of a 'garden special veggie pie' or with the one featuring The Works pizza.
"In most cases the Camaro plaque can be unscrewed and the plaque screwed back in," the company advises.
The cutouts of Schnatter and Manning, which include a "Welcome to our Stores" banner, are set to be deleted as well. The company doesn't clarify what to replace them with. At the same time, the board has approved an amendment that prohibits Papa John's founder to increase his stake by more than 15 percent. Schnatter currently owns 29 percent of the company.
The expelled Schnatter has hired a lawyer and is suing the chain to obtain documents that will reportedly cast the racial slur in a new light.
Comment: It will be interesting to see what he actually said. It wouldn't be surprising if he's telling the truth and his statements were taken out of context. Just look at how
Mark Twain has been treated. His novels contain the N-word, but the identity-politics mush-brains don't seem capable of understanding context. Here's a brain-flash for them: it's possible to use the N-word in a context which is anti-racist in nature. It isn't racist to say "[N-word] is a bad word." But according to progressive morality, it's worse to say it than it is to bomb hundreds of thousands of people to their deaths.
Comment: It will be interesting to see what he actually said. It wouldn't be surprising if he's telling the truth and his statements were taken out of context. Just look at how Mark Twain has been treated. His novels contain the N-word, but the identity-politics mush-brains don't seem capable of understanding context. Here's a brain-flash for them: it's possible to use the N-word in a context which is anti-racist in nature. It isn't racist to say "[N-word] is a bad word." But according to progressive morality, it's worse to say it than it is to bomb hundreds of thousands of people to their deaths.