Papa John's Chairman and CEO John Schnatter apologized to a customer from Sanford, Fla. for a racist message left on his answering machine by a Papa John's delivery man.
ABC news reports the driver left the message inadvertently as he "butt dialed" the customer after delivering a pizza to his house.
In the message, which was uploaded on YouTube by the customer on Sunday, the driver can be heard making racist remarks about Sanford -- a community that is still sore from Trayvon Martin's shooting last year.
"I guess that's the only requirement for being a n****r in Sanford," says the driver in reference to the race of the customers and the tip he received. "Yeah, they give me five bucks there -- fine outstanding African-American gentleman of the community."
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The driver is heard saying the word "n****r" and other expletives throughout the four-minute clip. He also sings a made up a song about the customer.
The following day Schnatter posted an apology for the remarks on Papa John's Facebook page claiming that the employee had been fired and that his comments "defy both my personal and the company's values, and everything for which this company stands."
Read Schnatter's full statement below.
Friends, I am extremely concerned to learn about the reprehensible language used by two former employees in one of our restaurants. Their thinking and actions defy both my personal and the company's values, and everything for which this company stands. The employees responsible for this absolutely unacceptable behavior were immediately terminated.
My heartfelt apology goes out to the customer involved, his family, and our community at large. I am very sorry that anyone would be exposed to these hurtful and painful words by any person involved in any way with our company.
Thank you for your important comments. I have personally reached out to our customer to share my own thoughts and offer my deepest apology.
Sincerely,
John Schnatter Chairman and CEO Papa John’s
