Chick-fil-A still closes on Sundays, still puts its Christian mission at the center of its corporate purpose, and still welcomes all customers through its doors.
But apparently, the company’s faith-based identity is also still a mainstream headline more than a decade after its widely publicized controversy over same-sex marriage.
In a recent interview on "The Today Show," CEO Andrew Cathy was pressed about the backlash that followed his father Dan Cathy’s 2012 comments on gay marriage and their donations to conservative Christian organizations.
“It’s a company that was sort of built on God, if you will. And that still also seems to be very much a part of the DNA of Chick-fil-A,” NBC’s Craig Melvin said to Cathy, who responded that it’s their “anchor.”
“It is our anchor in the sense of what our corporate purpose states, that we’re in business to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that’s entrusted to us, have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A,” Cathy said.
“There were folks who were protesting, they were boycotting Chick-fil-A, that Chick-fil-A, they don’t stand with the LGBTQ plus community,” Melvin said, asking, “What would you say to those folks?”
“Well, for anybody that hasn't tried us, we’d love for you to come try and have our great-tasting food and the hospitality that we’re known for. I think that everybody that will be willing to walk in the door, they’ll see that they’re welcome to come eat with us. We’d love to give them a great-tasting sandwich and give them great hospitality,” Cathy replied.
“You don’t want to talk about that chapter in Chick-fil-A’s history,” Melvin pressed.
“We’re focused on serving everybody that comes in and eats with us,” Cathy said with finality.
“LGBTQ, we don’t care,” BlazeTV host Pat Gray says, joking that milkshakes are loved by both homosexuals and heterosexuals.
“You know, it would be nice though if the Cathy family or anybody could just tell them, ‘Look, we have different beliefs than you, it’s OK,’” he says.
“Am I going to ever say that I agree with the lifestyle? No, but you know what? I don’t have to,” he adds.
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