Papa John’s CEO Steps Down After Years of Being a Jerk
Papa John’s CEO, John Schnatter, is a serious jerk and has never hesitated to show it. The problem is that when you own a major consumer products company and you take strong political stands, you’re going to piss off at least half of your customers. Schnatter has now learned that lesson, stepping down after touching off a firestorm by ranting about NFL players protesting police brutality during the national anthem at the beginning of football games. In 2009 and 2010 he took strong positions against Obamacare, saying he was going to cut employees salaries and raise prices in response to being required to provide health insurance to his employees. He’s made no bones about how much he hates President Obama and any Democrat.
Welp, Democrats eat pizza, and inexplicably, they had been eating Papa John’s pizza, which is some of the worst on the market. They stopped. After Papa John’s sales started sliding over the political firestorm, other pizza companies, more inclusive of political views, started piling on Schnatter. White supremacists came to Schnatter’s defense, naming Papa John’s the “pizza of the alt-right”, help that the company clearly didn’t need or want. The board got enough of it and cut him loose as chief executive. He still owns 25% of the stock, but I suspect that percentage is going to go down in short order.
Literally. LOL.
Beep Beep!! Karma Bus stop ahead!!
1Karma, baby. I was one of those pizza eaters who never bought another Papa John’s pizza. So glad to see he got his just rewards finally.
2Don’t forget Payton Manning who owns 20+ franchises and is a prominent Republican in Tennessee.
3I hope the board made a one-of-a-kind single topping pizza for him as a CEO retirement gift.
Crow
4It was reported that Schnatter lost $84 million after bashing football players…leaving him with a balance of only $560 million to help with upkeep on his Kentucky mansion.
Anyone else notice how ice cold he and his are with each other in their tv ad?
5oops…typo! Anyone else notice how ice cold he and his wife are with each other in their tv ad?
6I enjoyed hearing about Schnatter’s camaro being stolen at the Woodward Dream Cruise in 2015. Too bad it was recovered.
7I do not agree with the use of the phrase “steps down” instead of the more accurate “forced to resign” or ” was forced to resign or be fired”.
8I know this doesn’t speak well of me that I find Papa John’s downward spiral positively delightful. But as one of the people on Twitter who suggested that you might want to go to Little Caesar’s as opposed Daddy Deplorable, I can proudly state I haven’t eaten any of that cardboard since he whined about providing health care to his underpaid employees.
By contrast, the former CEO of Little Caesar’s anonymously paid Rosa Parks rent for years when he discovered that she couldn’t afford it. That same CEO made it a point to hire and provide franchise opportunities for veterans and to continually does community out reach to impoverished areas trying to help people improve their skills and get out of poverty. I have nothing but respect for those actions. If I’m going to cop out and not make my own pizza, then I feel like little Caesars is a better place to spend my money.
9El Jefe, I sometimes enjoy your posts, but PLEASE stop writing “welp” instead of “well.” It’s pointless and not funny. Thank you.
10When Schnatter made his comments about the ACA, I called corporate and asked if we were going to hear about every business cost increase. From fuel costs to veggies and meat should have been on his groaning board. Instead a BLACK President pushed an agenda item that was a campaign promise through Congress to help people stave off financial ruin and he rants on that. Of course, they refused to answer.
While I applaud Little Caesars on their social action, I can’t stand their piizza.
11I too quit buying Papa John’s pizza after his reaction to the ACA. My protest was silent and thought I was maybe the only one. So glad that I was in good company and it made a difference. Now, I will continue to boycott Hobby Lobby.
12Peyton Manning has pluses and minuses. He has been very supportive of women’s sports and that’s important. It’s regularly where many women learn that being physically bold, strong and aggressive is a good thing. (I mean in the appropriate context, not violence.) They learn leadership skills, fearlessness and make important connections with male athletes.
That’s how women are shattering glass ceilings in the upper levels of sports. On the highest levels there are women in front offices and basketball is on the forefront. Becky Hammon is widely expected to soon become an NBA head coach and it won’t be a shock. She’s acknowledged by her male peers as very good while serving as an assistant in San Antonio.
Support from people like Peyton Manning, Kobe Bryant, Greg Popovich and other male sports stars is crucial in making these things happen.
13Don’t buy box store pizza, neither Little Caesar’s nor Papa John’s. So I couldn’t buy any less than I already don’t.
Not a John Schnatter fan nor a Mike Illich fan either. Modern robber barons they are, no different than Rockefeller, Astor, Duke, Vanderbilt, and a dozen or more others.
F*ck Schnatter and Illich and their ilk.
14@ Expat – Welp, I appreciate the editorial criticism, and will take it under advisement.
15I, too, boycotted Papa Johns although I am not sure I actually bought any pizzas from them earlier 🙂 I also boycott Home Depot because of the owner’s political leanings.
16Lady Karma and Queen Nemesis are busy busy busy. Too bad Pappa John was left with anything. His pizza is horrible so it’s no loss to not buy it. Can’t eat it anyway now. But the man himself is vile and deserves to be hung out to dry.
17Is Papa John the one who is bankrolling an ultraconservative private college in Florida? Inasmuch as I never had any of his pizza or even anything from Little Caesar’s, I can’t help much with a boycott. There is a local mom and pop pizza shop in my neighborhood. I buy from them when I am in the mood.They also offer more on their menu than any other pizza place and their prices are – I am told – competitive. I do imagine Papa John fretting over the loss of those millions, even though he has more than enough leftover which he could never deplete in several lifetimes. So I say “boo” to his “hoo.”
18@maggie
IIRC, Domino’s pizzaman Tom Monaghan bought a failed Catholic school in Michigan and moved it to Flow-rida in 2000 or so. The “ultracon” part I wasn’t aware of, but I don’t doubt it either.
19I haven’t bought a Papa Johns since the time I was working I. A hospital with no lunch. The driver stiffed me on delivering the pizza and the franchisee never responded to my complaint.
I am glad that he is unemployed…
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