John Schnatter, the founder of Papa John’s Pizza, has resigned as chairman of the board of Papa John’s International, the company announced late Wednesday, hours after he apologized for using a racial slur in a comment about black people during a conference call in May.

The company, one of the largest pizza chains in the United States, with more than 5,000 locations around the world, said that its independent directors had accepted Mr. Schnatter’s resignation and would appoint a new chairman in the coming weeks. Mr. Schnatter will remain on Papa John’s board, according to a regulatory filing.

Earlier Wednesday, Mr. Schnatter described his comments during the conference call as “inappropriate and hurtful” in a statement provided by the company.

The apology was prompted by a report in Forbes that described the call, which was with the Laundry Service marketing agency. Mr. Schnatter said that Col. Harland Sanders, who founded the Kentucky Fried Chicken fast-food chain and was its longtime spokesman, used the racial slur to describe black people and never faced backlash for doing so, according to the Forbes report.