NBC News questioned Chick-fil-A CEO Andrew Cathy this week over claims that the company “doesn’t stand with the LGBTQ+ community,” pressing the fast-food executive to declare a political position on behalf of his restaurant chain.
Cathy’s response was simple: his business sells sandwiches, and it is happy to serve anyone who walks through the door. NBC’s own coverage of the interview noted that Cathy “emphasized that customers are welcome, but did not directly state the company’s position on LGBTQ rights.”
That answer apparently wasn’t good enough for at least one viewer. Actress Valerie Bertinelli said after watching the interview that she had never tried Chick-fil-A and now has no plans to.
The exchange is the latest example of a media outlet demanding that a private business publicly affirm a specific set of political and social views before it can be treated as acceptable to patronize. Cathy declined to play along, sticking to a straightforward statement about running a restaurant that serves customers regardless of their beliefs.
For a liberty-minded audience, the episode raises a simple question: should a company’s willingness to sell you food depend on whether its executives recite the correct political catechism on camera? Chick-fil-A’s answer, at least for now, is no — it sells sandwiches to whoever wants to buy them.
