---
title: "NRN: Papa John’s To Remove Founder From Advertising"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/744ba88b-a4a7-4611-a3d1-56fbaaeb65cf
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/nrn-papa-johns-to-remove-founder-from-advertising-2707163
category: "Restaurants"
industry: "Restaurants"
topics: ["Marketing"]
published: 2018-07-16T19:14:19.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:02:35.067Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/fd39581300eea5678256c94b06bd077e2834.jpg
---

# NRN: Papa John’s To Remove Founder From Advertising

**TL;DR:** Papa John's will remove founder John Schnatter from its advertising and marketing efforts after he used a racial slur during a conference call. Schnatter had previously stepped down as CEO and chairman of the board due to controversy.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2018-07-16. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/nrn-papa-johns-to-remove-founder-from-advertising-2707163).*

## Story

The report comes after Schnatter came under further scrutiny for using a racial slur during a May conference call. He stepped down from his position as chairman of the board shortly after details from the call became public.

Schnatter has frequently appeared in the pizza chain’s commercials and participated in various other spokesperson-related efforts.

He stepped down from his CEO role in December 2017 after making controversial comments regarding NFL kneeling protests.

Steve Ritchie, who replaced Schnatter as CEO earlier this year, commented on the decision to remove Schnatter from the company’s advertising efforts.

“Papa John’s is not an individual,” he said in a statement. “Papa John’s is a pizza company with 120,000 corporate and franchise team members around the world. Our employees represent all walks of life, and we are committed to fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace for all. Racism and any insensitive language, no matter what the context simply cannot — and will not — be tolerated at any level of our company.”

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- Papa Johns (company)
- NFL (company)
- company leadership (topic)
- founder controversy (topic)
- nfl protests (topic)
- advertising removal (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/nrn-papa-johns-to-remove-founder-from-advertising-2707163). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/744ba88b-a4a7-4611-a3d1-56fbaaeb65cf).