Papa John’s is removing founder from ads after he used racial slur

Papa John’s is removing the chain’s founder, John Schnatter, from marketing materials after it was revealed that he used a racial slur during a conference call.

According to a report published by The Associated Press on Friday, the pizza chain confirmed that it will be pulling Schnatter’s face from advertisements as the company moves to publicly distance itself from its founder following reports on Wednesday that he used the N-word during a conference call in May.

{mosads}Schnatter later apologized for the remark, which was made during a media training exercise after he was asked how he would distance himself from racist groups.

“Colonel Sanders called blacks n—–s,” Schnatter reportedly said on the call.

Schnatter also reportedly said that when he was growing up in Indiana, people would drag black people from trucks until they died. He said the controversial comments were intended to show his opposition to racism, though others on the call reported being offended by his racially charged remarks. 

The company told the publication it is still working out the exact timing and details as to how it plans to remove Schnatter, who has long been the face of the chain, from advertisements. The company also confirmed that it has no plans to rename the brand.

Schnatter resigned as company chairman late Wednesday after facing scrutiny for the remarks. However, he continues to remain on the company’s board and is still the largest shareholder of the company, reportedly holding roughly 30 percent of its stock.