Papa John’s pizza has been hounded by the media for comments supposedly made in response to Obamacare — that food prices were on the rise, that franchises would face closure due to escalating health care costs, that workers’ hours and positions would be sliced.
Only problem: The comments, attributed to CEO John Schnatter, were never made. That’s according to a Politico report about the efforts of Papa John public relations firm Sitrick and Co. to track down bloggers who’ve covered the supposed comments and ask for edits.
Sitrick and Co. chair Mike Sitrick said Mr. Schnatter did not claim that stores would close due to Obamacare costs, and that while he did admit during an investor telephone call that food prices could increase, he also explained the company sold enough pizzas to absorb health care costs.
Mr. Schnatter’s comments have been “completely distorted” by some bloggers, Mr. Sitrick told Politico, and as such, the firm has started responding with letters of request for post removal.
“When we see these blogs come up, we send them notes and overwhelmingly, with very few exceptions, they apologize and remove it,” he reportedly said.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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