Papa John's Racist Voicemail Gets Delivery Man Fired; CEO Apologizes on Facebook

Papa John's racist voicemail got the delivery man fired. Papa John's Chairman and CEO John Schnatter apologized for a racist rant that a delivery man left on a customer’s voicemail in Sanford, Fla.

The delivery man says the Papa John’s racist voicemail was “butt dialed” after he delivered a pizza to the customer and his wife on Sunday evening. The driver complained about the delivery in an inadvertent voicemail message filled with racial epithets.

The customer took to YouTube to voice his complaint. He posted a video that showed the pizza delivery receipt and explained that he and his wife left their “usual” 21 percent tip.

The voicemail message caught the Papa John’s delivery man complaining to another Papa John's employee about the $5 tip. The message uses the N-word and other racial slurs. The butt-dialed message also includes an impromptu song about the customer. The voicemail lasts about four minutes.

The delivery man can be heard in the voicemail saying, "I guess that's the only requirement for being a [insert N-word] in Sanford. Yeah, they give me five bucks there -- fine outstanding African-American gentleman of the community."

The voice message then caught one of the delivery driver’s co-workers laughing in response.

Sanford, Fla., is the city that made headlines last summer for racial tension after the shooting of Trayvon Martin.

Schnatter took to Facebook to post an apology on Papa John's Facebook page on Monday afternoon: "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. "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."
Papa John’s Chairman and CEO promised that the employees "responsible for this absolutely unacceptable behavior were immediately terminated."

A number of Facebook users commented in response to the company officer's post. The comments applauded his public apology.

One Facebook page commenter called Schnatter "a CEO that actually takes responsibility for the actions of his employees. You can't control employees, but you can take appropriate action."

This isn’t the first time the national pizza chain has come under fire for racist comments. A Papa John’s employee in New York City was blasted in January 2012 for describing a customer as "Lady Chink Eyes" on a paper receipt.

A CVS customer in New Jersey filed a million-dollar lawsuit against CVS for being called, "Lee, Ching Chong” last month.

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