Papa John's founder clears the air: He didn't eat 40 whole pizzas in 30 days

• Papa John's founder John Schnatter told hosts of the "H3 Podcast," that he did not actually eat 40 pizzas in 30 days, a claim he made in November.
• The founder said he was simply "inspecting" the pizzas, taste-testing slices.
• Schnatter was ousted from the company after using the n-word in a company conference call in 2018.
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Papa John's Pizza founder John Schnatter clarified that he only "sampled" slices from 40 pizzas in 30 days, after making a claim in November that was widely interpreted to mean that he had eaten 40 entire pizzas in 30 days.

Schnatter told the hosts of the "H3 Podcast" he was simply inspecting the pizzas of his former company and they didn't taste as good. The podcast episode was uploaded to YouTube on Monday.

"I didn't say I'd eaten 40 pizzas in 30 days, I said that I had 40 pizzas in 30 days," Schnatter said.

He explained that he was taste testing slices fom each pizza. In general, he explained, he eats around 8 or 9 slices per week.

"I've had over 40 pizzas in the last 30 days, and it's not the same pizza," Schnatter told local news station WDBR, in in November, leaving many to believe that he had eaten 40 whole pizzas in 30 days.

"It's not the same product," he added to WDBR. "It just doesn't taste as good."

The founder of the pizza chain resigned from the board back in 2018 after he used the n-word on a conference call, Business Insider previously reported. The company and founder reached a legal settlement in March 2019, Business Insider also reporter.

In his November 2019 interview with WDBR, Schnatter said he believes there was a conspiracy to kick him out. He also claimed he only used the word to describe his "hatred for racism" during a diversity training but others used it as an opportunity to get rid of him.

In the recent interview with "H3 Podcast," he claimed he still loved Papa John's and is the companies "biggest fan," but has no desire to be back on the board of directors.

• Read more:
• Embattled Papa John's exec John Schnatter resigns as chairman of the board at the pizza chain after admitting to using racial slur on a conference call
• Papa John's settles with founder John Schnatter (PZZA)
• Papa John's is surging after founder John Schnatter resigns from board and apologizes for using a racial slur (PZZA)link