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Papa John's draws ire of pop star Iggy AzaleaPapa John's draws ire of pop star Iggy Azalea

Pizza chain driver allegedly released performer’s personal phone number

Ron Ruggless, Senior Editor

February 10, 2015

1 Min Read
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Papa John’s International Inc. is working to placate angry pop star Iggy Azalea, who claims a delivery driver gave her personal phone number to a family member who was texting her, the pizza operator said Monday.

Azalea, known for hit songs like “Fancy” and “Booty,” has a large public stage, with 4.2 million Twitter followers.

A spokesman for Louisville, Ky.-based Papa John’s issued a statement Monday, saying: “Privacy of our customers and employees is extremely important to us. Papa John's has taken appropriate disciplinary action with regard to the employee involved.

“We are reaching out directly to Ms. Azalea and hope to resolve this incident and make it right," the spokesman said.

The incident came to light mid-afternoon Sunday, before the Grammy Awards ceremony, which Azalea attended.
 

 



Papa John’s responded about three hours later with a rather routine tweet: “@iggyazalea #We should have known better. Customer and employee privacy is important to us. Please don’t #bounce us!”

Azalea continued her dialogue into Monday afternoon with about a dozen more Tweets.
 



Frozen pizza manufacturer DiGiorno took advantage of Azalea’s complaints on Sunday to plug its own retail grocery product.
 



Azalea replied, “I know, right!”

Papa John’s has more than 4,537 restaurants in all 50 states and 36 other countries and territories.

Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected].
Follow him on Twitter: @RonRuggless

About the Author

Ron Ruggless

Senior Editor, Nation’s Restaurant News / Restaurant Hospitality

Ron Ruggless serves as a senior editor for Informa Connect’s Nation’s Restaurant News (NRN.com) and Restaurant Hospitality (Restaurant-Hospitality.com) online and print platforms. He joined NRN in 1992 after working 10 years in various roles at the Dallas Times Herald newspaper, including restaurant critic, assistant business editor, food editor and lifestyle editor. He also edited several printings of the Zagat Dining Guide for Dallas-Fort Worth, and his articles and photographs have appeared in Food & Wine, Food Network and Self magazines. 

Ron Ruggless’ areas of expertise include foodservice mergers, acquisitions, operations, supply chain, research and development and marketing. 

Ron Ruggless is a frequent moderator and panelist at industry events ranging from the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators (MUFSO) conference to RestaurantSpaces, the Council of Hospitality and Restaurant Trainers, the National Restaurant Association’s Marketing Executives Group, local restaurant associations and the Horeca Professional Expo in Madrid, Spain.

Ron Ruggless’ experience:

Regional and Senior Editor, Informa Connect’s Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality (1992 to present)

Features Editor – Dallas Times Herald (1989-1991)

Restaurant Critic and Food Editor – Dallas Times Herald (1987-1988)

Editing Roles – Dallas Times Herald (1982-1987)

Editing Roles – Charlotte (N.C.) Observer (1980-1982)

Editing Roles – Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald (1978-1980)

Email: [email protected]

Social media:

Twitter@RonRuggless

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ronruggless

Instagram: @RonRuggless

TikTok: @RonRuggless

 

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