The good news is that last week’s strong anti-NFL remarks from Papa John’s CEO John Schnatter has won the pizza franchise a new customer base. The bad news is that it’s a customer base Papa John’s doesn’t want.
Last week, The Daily Stormer declared Papa John’s to be the official pizza of the alt-right, in an item that included an image of a pizza with pepperoni arranged in the shape of a swastika. Via Newsweek.com, Papa John’s has essentially sent the alt-right a pizza with the pepperoni arranged in the shape of a middle finger.
“We condemn racism in all forms and any and all hate groups that support it,” Papa John’s senior director of public relations Peter Collins said in a statement. “We do not want these individuals or groups to buy our pizza.”
The alt-right attraction came from the Schnatter’s attack on the league’s lingering anthem controversy, which many believe was instigated by one of Schnatter’s business partners, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
The controversy has had less troubling complications for Papa John’s, including a Twitter battle with DiGiorno’s and a claim from Pizza Hut that the key Papa John’s competitor hasn’t seen a dip in sales despite the NFL’s decline in ratings.