Papa John's founder allegedly used the N-word during a role-playing exercise designed to prevent future PR problems

Papa John's founder and CEO John Schnatter was swiftly forced to step down last year when he claimed to analysts that the NFL's handling of the national anthem protests "hurt Papa John's shareholders." In the hopes of preventing another such scandal, Schnatter hired a marketing agency to help him make his comeback, Forbes reports — except that agency apparently just dropped him after he used the N-word in their role-playing conference call.

In a spectacular case of will he ever learn, Schnatter was allegedly asked by the marketing company, Laundry Service, how he would distance himself from racist online groups, which prompted the pizza magnate to complain that "Colonel Sanders called blacks" the N-word and never got punished.

Schnatter, 56, who founded Papa John's in Jeffersonville, Indiana, also allegedly mused on the fact that there were lynchings in his state when he was growing up. "He apparently intended for the remarks to convey his antipathy to racism," Forbes writes, "but multiple individuals on the call found them to be offensive." Laundry Service's owner subsequently ended the company's contract with Papa John's.

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Seems that comeback might take awhile yet.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.