Papa John’s denies claim that it’s the ‘official pizza of the alt-right’

It’s only been a few days since John Schnatter - the pizza chain CEO widely known as Papa John - blamed poor pizza sales on the continuing pre-game protests by NFL players, but far-right activists have already claimed the chain’s pie as their own. In an article on the ultra-conservative website the Daily Stormer, Adrian Sol asks: “Papa John [sic]: Official pizza of the alt-right?”

In the article, Sol claims that the “Negro Felon League” has an “anti-White agenda” and gloats that it is “starting to make economic sense to be pro-White.”

According to Vice, an earlier version of the article featured a photo of a pizza with pepperoni in the shape of a swastika. It appears the photo has since been removed.

“We condemn racism in all forms and any and all hate groups that support it. We do not want these individuals or groups to buy our pizza,” a Papa John’s spokesperson told Vice.

https://twitter.com/ChrisScondi/status/926187204568801281https://twitter.com/steventurous/status/926898172223541248In a conference call with investors on November 2, Schnatter reported a significant decline in same-store sales, which he blamed on fans supposedly boycotting the NFL over the “Take a Knee” demonstrations performed by athletes protesting racial inequality. He said, “The NFL has hurt us by not resolving the current debacle to the players’ and owners’ satisfaction. NFL leadership has hurt Papa John’s shareholders.”

Other pizza companies - such as Pizza Hut and DiGiorno - have trolled Papa John’s by noting that NFL protests have not hurt their sales at all.

For more on the Kentucky-based chain, here are nine things you didn’t know about Papa John’s.