Papa John's Newest Shaq-Backed Innovation Is Pizza... Folded In Half

Shaquille O'Neal has been on the Papa John's board for roughly five months, and he finally has something to show for his time with the beleaguered pizza chain: the Papadia.

In a Twitter video that comes pretty close to insulting our intelligence with its highly contrived nature, Shaq "stealthily" takes us into a Papa John's board meeting: "Shh, this is new stuff that Papa John's coming out with," he teases. "The board members don't know I got my phone, about to taste-test some new food that's not even out yet. Coming soon."

What, pray tell, is this Area 51-status innovation that Shaq is about to share with us? It's the Papadia.

He doesn't explain the Papadia, so there is a chance I'm missing some crucial detail, but it appears to be a pizza, folded in half. At best, it's maybe a calzone, a pizza pocket, or a Shaq-sized pita, but the more I rewatch the video, the more it just looks like a folded-in-half pizza cut into four square pieces.

I'm willing to admit that customers don't need a ton of creativity from pizza chains: Combine carbs with cheese and some kind of sauce, and we're pretty happy. (Yes, I will order both a pizza and cheese-breadstick to dunk in marinara. I know they're the same food.)

But even given the winning formula of carbs + cheese + sauce, this feels lazy. Come on, Shaq, your fans expect more.

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