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The founder and former chairman of Papa John’s, John Schnatter, has said that the pizza chain has abandoned the “conservative values” he built it on and is losing customers as a result. Schnatter made the comments in an interview with the Right Side Broadcasting Network at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dallas, Texas, on Aug. 4.

In today's episode of Common Sense, we sit down with the Founder of Papa John's Pizza, John Schnatter. We discuss how American businesses are picking up the pieces after the damage done by the prolonged shutdown, and now, the violent rioting.

John Schnatter, the ousted founder of Papa John’s Pizza, escalated his battle with his former company’s board on Wednesday, launching a website for the purpose of “getting the truth” to the public. Entitled SavePapaJohns.com, the website includes links to legal documents, press releases and letters related to his dispute with the board, which removed him from its marketing campaigns and banned him from making media appearances last July. In a message to readers, Schnatter accused the board of trying to “silence” him and said he misses his customers and former employees.

MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) — More than 500 people have emailed Ball State University about its decision to support Papa John's founder John Schnatter amid controversy over his use of a racial slur. Trustees decided Friday to support the pizza-chain founder, who graduated from the university in 1983, The Star Press reported . Since then, hundreds of people have emailed the university, taken to social media or signed a petition regarding the decision. The university is in the process of reviewing the messages, which have included both positive and negative reactions, university spokeswoman Kathy Wolf said. Wolf said university officials condemn...

Cue the Papa John vanishing act. Papa John’s, the embattled 5,212-unit pizza chain, has sent precise instructions to its store owners on how to remove every last image and signature of founder John Schnatter from its locations. Store owners should remove Schnatter’s signature from the wooden paddles used to take pizzas out of the oven — and replace it with images of vegetables or cheese...

... Then on Friday, Schnatter told Louisville radio station WHAS that he was “just talking the way that the Colonel talked.” Colonel Sanders’ grandson Trigg Adams told the Louisville Courier Journal on Wednesday that it is “an absolute lie” that Sanders used the racial slur or any other racially offensive words. “He’s a weasel,” Adams said about Schnatter, the Courier Journal reported. “Because he's prejudiced, he’s trying to say somebody else was, too. (Sanders) had absolutely no prejudice against anybody.” Sanders, who died in 1980, donated more than $20 million to charities, including to black churches, Adams added.

The founder of Papa John's said he made “a mistake” when he agreed to step down as chairman of the company’s board last week amid “mischaracterized” reports about his use of a racial slur earlier this year. In a letter addressed to members of the company's board, pizza chain founder John Schnatter said board members pressured him to resign without "any investigation" and based its decision on “rumor and innuendo.” “The board asked me to step down as chairman without apparently doing any investigation. I agreed, though today I believe it was a mistake to do so,” Schnatter said, according...

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - Pizza mogul John Schnatter is making major moves to repair his reputation and regain his position on the Papa John's board. WAVE 3 News learned Schnatter has now hired Hollywood power lawyer Patricia Glaser, after he admitted to using the N-word during a conference call in a way he maintains was mischaracterized. Glaser has a lot of experience representing big names including disgraced movie executive Harvey Weinstein, Keith Olbermann, Conan O'Brien and celebrity chef Paula Deen after her N-word scandal. WAVE 3 News obtained a letter Glaser sent to the Papa John's Board of Directors on...

“With respect to John H. Schnatter," the board of directors at Papa John’s says “Papa John” Schnatter will no longer have a work space at the company headquarters in the wake of his latest controversy. On Sunday, Papa John’s International, Inc. issued a press release stating that the company will be terminating a sublease agreement with Schnatter, which had allowed him the use of office space within the building. The decision came following the board’s previous actions toward terminating Schnatter’s “founders agreement,” and removing his likeness from marketing materials after he admitted to using the N-word during a conference call...

A week that began with reports that Papa John’s founder Papa “John” Schnatter somehow worked an overt hard-r racial slur into a conference call with a marketing company is ending with the removal of Schnatter’s name from virtually everything on which it had previously been emblazoned. There are only so many of these left at this point, but the University of Louisville announced on Friday that it would begin the work of prying Papa’s brand off their football stadium and, uh, The John H. Schnatter Center for Free Enterprise at the Louisville College of Business. He had already withdrawn from...

Major League Baseball is doing its best to cut all ties with Papa John’s and its racist founder, with Derek Jeter and the Miami Marlins leading the charge. A recording of John Schnatter using the N-word was uncovered by Forbes on Wednesday, and the ex-CEO stepped down shortly after.

Papa John's founder John Schnatter resigned as company chairman late Wednesday after it was reported that he used the N-word during a conference call in May. The company said in a statement that it will appoint a new chairman in the coming weeks. The news comes the same day Schnatter faced intense backlash for using the racial slur while taking part in an exercise on handling public relations. Forbes first reported on the comments Wednesday, stating that Schnatter used the N-word after being asked how he would distance himself from racist groups. The question came in response to blowback Schnatter...

Papa John’s founder John Schnatter resigned as the company’s chairman on Wednesday night after fallout over his use of the n-word during a conference call. ... Schnatter used the n-word on a conference call in May. The call was specifically designed as a role-playing exercise to prevent future public-relations disasters. “Colonel Sanders called blacks n—–s,” Schnatter said, before complaining that Sanders never faced public backlash...

Papa Johns’ founder John Schnatter will step down as CEO following an intense backlash sparked by his criticism of NFL players protesting the National Anthem. The company’s president, Steve Ritchie, will take over as CEO. Business Insider reports: Schnatter sparked controversy in November when he slammed NFL leadership over the ongoing national anthem protests. “Leadership starts at the top, and this is an example of poor leadership,” CEO John Schnatter said in a call with investors. […] Schnatter owns roughly 25% of Papa John’s, and will stay on as chairman after stepping down as CEO in January. According to a...

It has been one week since the reelection of Barack Obama and the reality of Obamacare’s permanence in the American landscape is beginning to set in for many business owners. Papa John’s founder and CEO, John Schnatter made headlines last week along with a slew of other companies when he announced some changes that would likely occur as Obamacare continues to be implemented. Schnatter commented that many of his company’s franchise owners will have to cut employees’ hours in order to avoid falling under Obamacare’s coverage requirements, and stay fiscally sound. “That’s probably what’s going to happen,” he said according...

"Since when does serving up junk food give someone a license to preach?" carped Petula Dvorak as she opened her August 14 piece, "Now featuring filet o' fracas."* Gee, I dunno, Petula, maybe 1791, when the First Amendment -- you know, that pesky little document that guarantees freedom of speech and religion among other things -- was ratified. "We've got the Papa John's pizza guys weighing in on the health-care debate, while the burger slingers out West at In-N-Out can't serve up a cheeseburger without a Bible verse," Dvorak carped. Later in her Metro section column, she essentially compared the...

Apparently CNN considers the stating of cold, hard economic realities to be risky partisanship now. Take the case of Papa John’s CEO John Schnatter claiming that ObamaCare will increase costs for his company. Papa John's is not the first company to claim Obamacare will raise its costs, but it is the first to be viciously attacked by CNN. On Thursday’s Situation Room, CNN felt it necessary to not only examine the ‘truth’ behind Schnatter’s claim but also to attack his comments for their supposed political repercussions. CNN’s Lisa Sylvester claimed that: Schnatter may not have realized his comments would be...

The media doesn’t like food much these days. Papa John’s Pizza founder John Schnatter is the latest individual in the food industry to draw fire from the left; in his case the he made the mistake of discussing the economic effects of Obamacare on his company. Outlets from the Colbert Report to the Boston Globe savaged Schnatter for having the effrontery of publicly explaining basic economics. In a conference call with shareholders last week, Schnatter (who is a Romney supporter) said:: “Our best estimate is that Obamacare will cost 11 to 14 cents per pizza, or 15 to 20 cents...

After President Obama's health care law takes full effect, the slogan for national pizza chain Papa John's may need an update. Instead of, “Better ingredients. Better Pizza,” may we suggest, “Better health care. Pricier pizza." Papa John's CEO John Schnatter says that Obamacare will result in a $0.11 to $0.14 price increase per pizza, or $0.15 to $0.20 cents per order, Pizza Marketplace, a trade publication, reports. (Hat tip: @dkberman via Twitter.) Under Obamacare, the company, which is the third-largest pizza takeout and delivery chain in the United States, will have to offer health care coverage to more of its...