The disgraced founder of Papa John’s Pizza, who said last year that he ate “40 pizzas in 30 days,” is walking back the boastful claim he made while criticizing his former namesake company. In an interview with H3 Podcast, John Schnatter told hosts Ethan and Hila Klein, “I didn’t say I’d eaten 40 pizzas in 30 days, I said that I had 40 pizzas in 30 days... When I said I had a pizza, this means I’m inspecting.” The ousted pizza king added that he had eaten only parts of the pizza, sampling slices from 40 different pizzas over 30 days. Schnatter’s initial claim in November was met with heavy skepticism. “I’ve had over 40 pizzas in the last 30 days, and it’s not the same pizza,” he said at the time. “It’s not the same product. It just doesn’t taste as good.” He is now asserting that he only eats about eight or nine slices a week, amounting to about six pies per month. Schnatter was recorded using the n-word on a conference call with a marketing agency in 2018 designed as a role-playing exercise to avoid making controversial or damaging statements in public. He also faced intense backlash for criticizing NFL leadership for not taking action against players who kneeled or sat during the national anthem. Schnatter resigned as company chairman in July 2018.
