The Papa John's Pizza saga has reached new heights. John Schnatter, the chain's founder, has created a website stating, "We are getting the truth out there," and is running a full-page ad in the Louisville Courier Journal on Wednesday telling employees how much he misses them. The Save Papa John's website includes legal documents relating to Schnatter's feud with the board of the pizza chain, which has removed his "Founders Agreement" from its site, has taken him off marketing material and stopped him from using corporate headquarters. The Papa John's board acted after Schnatter appeared on Louisville television claiming that PR agency Laundry Service tried to extort $6 million from the pizza chain. Schnatter filed a lawsuit against the board on July 26, accusing it of negligence. Under the headline "I am Papa John," Schnatter states on his website that he loves the company and its employees. "I built Papa John's from the ground up and remain its largest shareholder… The board wants to silence me. So this is my website, and my way to talk to you."

In a letter to Papa John's employees, Schnatter denied that he wanted his image removed from offices and marketing. "This is not the case at all. As you all know, Papa John's is our life's work," he wrote. Papa John's maintains that Schnatter asked to have some items with his likeness removed from the corporate office. The company did not specify which items, however. Schnatter stepped down as chairman in July after Forbes reported that he used the N-word during a media training call with Laundry Service in May. But legal documents on Schnatter's website state: "There is a world of difference between using the word as a slur — demeaning someone by calling them that word — and quoting that word," a statement previously reported by Forbes. Schnatter claims he was emphasizing that it was "utterly wrong and inappropriate" to use the word. He is feuding with the company he built into the U.S.'s third-largest pizza chain, saying executives should reinstate him as CEO. He quit the chief executive role in November after saying: "NFL leadership has hurt Papa John's shareholders," when players knelt during the national anthem. Papa John's was a NFL sponsor but the association ended three months early after Schnatter's comments, which provoked public outrage.