Papa John's really, REALLY doesn't want to be linked to Neo-Nazis anymore.
In a fiery trio of tweets, the pizza giant came out with an explanation regarding the events of the past couple of weeks. For those who need catching up, Papa John's caught some shade for blaming the NFL's handling of players' national anthem protests on their drop in sales. The alt-right later made the chain their official pizza, something that Papa John didn't want even a miniscule part of.
Papa John's full response to their ongoing controversy is below:
The statements made on our earnings call were describing the factors that impact our business and we sincerely apologize to anyone that thought they were divisive. That definitely was not our intention. (1/3)
— Papa John's Pizza (@PapaJohns) November 15, 2017
We believe in the right to protest inequality and support the players’ movement to create a new platform for change. We also believe together, as Americans, we should honor our anthem. There is a way to do both. (2/3)
— Papa John's Pizza (@PapaJohns) November 15, 2017
We will work with the players and league to find a positive way forward. Open to ideas from all. Except neo-nazis — ?those guys. (3/3)
— Papa John's Pizza (@PapaJohns) November 15, 2017
Still, not everybody is buying Papa John's apology, even if part of it flips off Neo-Nazis. Several responded to the pizza purveyor's tweets by throwing some shade of their own.
Not only that, but you have shown your true selves time and time again.
You did not want your employees to have health insurance. You threatened to increase prices on your ketchup-drizzled cardboard. Then you had to backtrack once you received backlash. — SUJ ⚖️ (@SujOfficial) November 15, 2017
Why the change of heart?
Oh. The company's stock has fallen by nearly 13% since Schnatter's comments. "NFL leadership has hurt Papa John's shareholders." I think Papa John's leadership has done much more damage... — Tyler Chatham (@HaHaChatham) November 15, 2017
Nice try. But your pizza still sucks, your founder still bemoaned giving ins to his employees from his 40,000 square foot mansion & it took you 3 weeks to issue this statement.
— Concerned American (@LizEClark) November 15, 2017
— Jean Grey 2017 (@2017_grey) November 15, 2017
While fans may not be completely buying Papa John's apology, it has yet to be seen if the shareholders feel the same way. As of press time, Papa John's stock was down 0.85 points, or 1.43 percent, on Wednesday morning.
