Chick-fil-A pulls in $24 billion a year in revenue, opens 150 new locations annually, fields 150,000 franchise applications, and has donated over 200 million meals through its Shared Tables program. NBC's Today show looked at all of that on Monday and decided the real story was that the CEO's family donates to conservative causes.
The chicken sandwich is political again.
Craig Melvin, co-host of NBC's Today, ran a segment on October 14 profiling Andrew Cathy, the third-generation CEO who took over the company in 2021. The segment covered Chick-fil-A's rise to the third-largest fast-food chain in America — and then pivoted to what NBC clearly considered the main event. Melvin noted the company's "purpose came under fire in 2012" and declared that critics say "they don't stand with the LGBTQ+ community." The framing treated the Cathy family's private donations to conservative Christian organizations as a scandal requiring public explanation.
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Segment was a hit piece dressed up as a business profile. The pattern is familiar. Invite a successful CEO on camera, let them talk about the product for ninety seconds, then spring the gotcha about their personal beliefs. Andrew Cathy's grandfather Truett Cathy founded the first Chick-fil-A in 1967. His father Dan Cathy led the company through the 2012 controversy. Andrew inherited both a thriving business and a permanent media target on his back.
Cathy handled it the way the company always has. "We'd love to give them a great-tasting sandwich," he said. "We're focused on hospitality, serving great-tasting food." When pressed, he stuck to the product: "It's the same recipe since 1967." He also made clear the company isn't cutting corners to chase trends. "We're not going to shrink product," Cathy said.
Notice what NBC didn't do. They didn't name the specific organizations. They didn't report the amounts. They didn't explain what these "conservative causes" actually advocate for. The segment ran on vibes — the implication that donating to anything right of center is inherently disqualifying. The word "conservative" was the accusation. No further evidence required.
Meanwhile, the list of Fortune 500 CEOs who bundle for Democratic candidates, fund progressive nonprofits, and host fundraisers for left-wing PACs would fill a spreadsheet NBC has never once opened on air. Tim Cook hosts Democratic fundraisers. Reed Hastings bankrolled progressive education campaigns. Nobody at Today has ever turned a puff piece on Netflix into a referendum on its CEO's political giving. The scrutiny runs one direction.
The 2012 controversy NBC referenced happened when Dan Cathy made public comments about his personal views on marriage. The response was a boycott call — followed by the single largest sales day in Chick-fil-A history when customers showed up in force. The company didn't apologize, didn't rebrand, didn't hire a DEI consultancy. It kept making chicken. Fourteen years later, $24 billion in annual revenue suggests the market rendered its verdict.
Andrew Cathy sat across from a network anchor who wanted him to answer for his family's beliefs, and he talked about sandwiches and hospitality instead. A company founded in 1967, still using the same recipe, still closed on Sundays, pulling in $24 billion and feeding 200 million meals to people in need.
NBC ran the segment anyway.