Colonel Harland Sanders' family jumped in to rescue him from Papa John's founder John Schnatter, who said the man behind KFC had never been criticized for hurling racial slurs in the past, CNBC reported.
Schnatter resigned last week as chairman of Papa John's after he allegedly used a racial slur and graphic descriptions of violence against minorities on a May conference call.
It was during the call, arranged by Schnatter's marketing agency as a role-playing exercise, that the Papa John's head dragged Sanders into the conversation, stating that the Colonel had often used racial slurs but never faced public backlash, Forbes noted.
Schnatter on the other hand, faced massive scrutiny for his remarks.
In a recent interview with Louisville radio station WHAS, Schnatter continued his accusation, stating that he was merely speaking like Sanders would when the racial slur slipped out.
Sanders' family stepped in, insisting that Schnatter's comments were "an absolute lie," the Louisville Courier Journal noted.
"He's a weasel," said Trigg Adams, Sanders' grandson, about Schnatter. "Because he's prejudiced, he's trying to say somebod else was, too. (Sanders) had absolutely no prejudice against anybody."
Cindy Wurster Sjorgen, a great-granddaughter of Sanders, added that the Colonel "was known to throw around a few cuss words but never a racial slur. For Mr. Schnatter to use the colonel as a scapegoat for his own horrible, disgusting mouth and racist beliefs is inexcusable."
Adams said he worked alongside Sanders in the 1950s and he never heard his grandfather talk poorly to his black employees, according to the Courier Journal.
In fact, he said Sanders donated more than $20 million to charities during his lifetime, including black churches which he sometimes attended.
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