‘The company needs to apologize’; Papa John’s founder meets with man accusing company of discrimination

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    ST. ANN, Missouri (KMOV) — Papa John’s founder and former CEO John Schnatter came to St. Louis to try and right a wrong following a News 4 report about a St. Ann man suing the city’s Papa John’s Pizza after experiencing what he called employment discrimination and getting fired after filing complaints.

“The tape is dreadful, it’s horrific, and for anybody to have to go through that, it’s just bad,” said Schnatter. Earlier this month, News 4 told you about former employee George Mitchell, who filed a lawsuit against Papa John’s after he recorded audio of a manager he said would go on racist tirades.

After multiple complaints to corporate, Mitchell was the one who was fired, and not the manager. “I loved the job, and I loved what I did,” he told News 4.

After the story aired, Mitchell said in a desperate attempt, he emailed Schnatter, whom himself has gone through racial controversy with the company.

“I thought why isn’t the company doing anything about this?” Schnatter said.

Schnatter stepped down as CEO in 2018 after he was accused of using the N-word during a meeting on how the NFL’s protest of players kneeling was impacting Papa John’s dropping sales. At the time, the pizza company was in a sponsorship deal with the league. This past December, the FBI exonerated Schnatter of his use of the N-word after an investigation.

“The free report clears me,” he said. After reviewing the transcript and audio of that meeting, the FBI said Schnatter’s comments were not intended as a racial slur.

“I’ve had plenty publicity already and if this helps him get this resolved, then we’ll get some publicity,” Schnatter said.

As Papa John’s founder, Schnatter told News 4 he’s focused on removing the racist stigma associated with the brand. “I think the company needs to apologize to George, I think they need some financial ramifications to satisfy everything he’s had to go through,” he said.

Schnatter is still a partial owner with the company and said he plans to reach out to corporate leaders at Papa John’s on Mitchell’s case.

News 4 reached out to Papa John’s for a response to Schnatter’s comments and they have not responded. In a previous statement about Mitchell’s lawsuit Papa John’s stated:

“We take all allegations of discrimination very seriously, but as a matter of practice we do not comment on legal matters.”

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