Excommunicated Papa John’s founder John Schnatter needed fuel for his fight against the “progressive elite left.” So what better way to do that than to eat 800 Papa John’s pizzas in 18 months? According to a profile by Bloomberg, he embarked on the carb-filled quest in an attempt to prove that the quality of Papa John’s pizzas has deteriorated since he was ousted from the company in 2018 for using a racist term during a company call.

Schnatter told Bloomberg that he blamed his downfall on, among other things, the “progressive elite left.” He said he was determined to reemerge, trying to tell the story of how he built his company and how, to him, the story “totally debunks the left’s ideology.” A Papa John’s spokesperson told Bloomberg that the company was doing perfectly well thanks to its partnership with NBA star Shaquille O’Neal and its new stuffed crust pizza. “We are proud of the company we have become and the diverse, inclusive, and innovative culture we are creating,” they said.