On October 14, Chick-fil-A CEO Andrew Cathy sat down for an interview on NBC’s "Today" show with Craig Melvin.
Melvin pressed Cathy on the company’s past stance regarding LGBTQ issues. In 2012, Dan Cathy, Andrew’s father and former CEO, publicly supported the biblical definition of marriage, which triggered protests, boycotts, and controversy.
The company also faced criticism over past donations from its foundation to Christian groups, such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Salvation Army, that some criticized as opposing LGBTQ rights. In 2019, Chick-fil-A redirected its charitable giving toward education, homelessness, and hunger.
When Melvin asked what Cathy would say to people who protested or boycotted because they felt Chick-fil-A didn’t “stand with the LGBTQ+ community,” Cathy said, “Well, for anybody that hadn'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.”
When Melvin followed up by insinuating that Cathy “[didn’t] want to talk about that chapter in Chick-fil-A's history,” Cathy replied that the company was “focused on serving everybody that come in and eat with us.”
Melvin then asked for “the company's official position on equal rights.”
“We're focused on hospitality, serving great-tasting food and great service,” Cathy replied.
LGBTQ advocates, progressive outlets, and even some celebrities criticized Cathy for what they interpreted as dodging the questions to avoid explicitly supporting the LGBTQ+ community.
BlazeTV host Steve Deace has the same complaint but for the opposite reason. On this episode of the “Steve Deace show,” he rips into Cathy for selling out to the secular culture, despite the company’s increasing profitability.
“Last year, Chick-fil-A made almost $24 billion in revenue … up 5% from their revenue in 2024,” he says.
He shares these numbers to prove that Cathy’s evasive answer was not financially motivated.
“Whatever PR firm that convinced him that this was the right way, can that be publicized so I can make sure that everybody I know in the Christian conservative space or any media space at all never hires them ever again?” says Deace.
The entire interview, he argues, “accomplished nothing [and] was unnecessary.”
“Nobody asked for this. There was no moment that required it. There was no tension whatsoever,” he says.
Deace believes that Cathy agreed to this seemingly random interview with NBC because “a PR firm told him to do [it].”
“What good is it to gain the whole world but lose your soul in the entire process?” he asks. “Well, apparently $24 billion was worth baring your soul and having it stomped on and humiliated and put through a Soviet struggle session on the "Today" show.”
“That might be the most pathetic video I've seen in the year of our Lord 2026 right there. And I'm offended at it. I’m angry at it.”
Cathy’s cowardice, he argues, indicates that he’s “going to the spirit of the age for repentance and absolution.”
“You're making $24 billion a year and you're actually a business who's increased in value while many other people can't afford much else, so you called up Devil HQ and said, ‘Hey, do you mind if we come in and take a lashing?’” Deace rails.
“If you're going to do that, then open up on Sundays. Your Sunday thing's not legit then. It's a crock. It's performance. It's virtue-signaling.”
To hear more of Deace’s scathing commentary, watch the episode above.
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