Chick-fil-A CEO Andrew Cathy declines to comment on LGBTQ+ rights
CEO Andrew Cathy stated everyone is welcome at the company's restaurants but did not directly address LGBTQ+ rights.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Chick-fil-A CEO Andrew Cathy has dodged a question about the company’s stance on LGBTQ+ rights, years after the fast-food chain faced fierce backlash over anti-gay marriage comments (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)
Photograph: The Independent (US) (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Chick-fil-A CEO Andrew Cathy stated that everyone is welcome at the company's restaurants.
- Cathy declined to directly comment on LGBTQ+ rights when asked by interviewer Craig Melvin.
- In 2012, Andrew Cathy's father, Dan Cathy, publicly stated the company was against same-sex marriage.
- Chick-fil-A reported nearly $24 billion in sales last year and remains a family-owned company.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 15 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 1 of the 16 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
42/100
Craft
61/100
Hype
41/100
16 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
Only 1 of the 15 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Chick-fil-A CEO Andrew Cathy stated that everyone is welcome at the company's restaurants. When asked by Craig Melvin on the "Today" show about the company's stance on LGBTQ+ rights, Cathy did not directly address the issue. He reiterated that the company is focused on hospitality and serving all customers.
This interview follows past controversy surrounding the company's charitable donations. In 2012, Andrew Cathy's father, Dan Cathy, publicly stated the company was against same-sex marriage. In 2019, Chick-fil-A announced it would no longer fund organizations perceived as anti-LGBTQ+, shifting its focus to education, homelessness, and hunger initiatives.
Disagreement on interview framing
NewsBusters described the interview as NBC "slamm[ing]" Chick-fil-A CEO Andrew Cathy over his family's backing of conservative causes, stating that Craig Melvin spent "just over 90 seconds harassing him over his family’s Christian roots." The Independent's headline stated that the CEO "dodges question on company’s stance on LGBTQ+ rights."
What the coverage left out
None of the left-rated digests mention the specific amounts Chick-fil-A donated to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes or the Salvation Army in 2019, details present in The Independent's full report. None of the right-rated digests mention the company's 2019 announcement to focus its giving on education, homelessness, and hunger.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 4 times, most recently on 14 Oct 2026, 19:15, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
Chick-fil-A CEO Andrew Cathy declines to comment on LGBTQ+ rights
NBC Chicago — embedded from source
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
13 rated outlets
- The left-rated reports focused on Chick-fil-A CEO Andrew Cathy's refusal to directly address LGBTQ+ rights. Multiple reports highlighted the contrast with his father, Dan Cathy, who publicly opposed same-sex marriage in 2012. The reports noted the company's 2019 shift away from funding anti-LGBTQ+ organizations. Several digests from NBC outlets used the same headline, "Chick-fil-A’s CEO was asked about his company’s position on LGBTQ rights. This is what he said."
Centre
1 rated outlet
- The centre-rated report from NBC Chicago also focused on Andrew Cathy's response to questions about LGBTQ+ rights. It noted that the company had faced criticism in the past over donations to conservative groups. The report stated that Cathy was asked about the company's official position on equal rights and responded by focusing on hospitality and service.
Right
1 rated outlet
- The right-rated report from NewsBusters framed the interview as NBC "slamm[ing]" the Chick-fil-A CEO over his family's Christian background and support for conservative causes. The digest stated that interviewer Craig Melvin "harass[ed] him over his family’s Christian roots."
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Chick-fil-A CEO Andrew Cathy declines to comment on LGBTQ+ rights?
- Of the 15 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 87% are rated left, 6% are rated centre, 7% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 16. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Chick-fil-A CEO Andrew Cathy declines to comment on LGBTQ+ rights left or right?
- The story itself is neither. What can be counted is who has covered it, and 87% of the 15 rated outlets on it are rated left — so far this is a story carried mostly by the left. Coverage is still arriving and that can change, which is why the figure is dated rather than fixed.
- Is the coverage of Chick-fil-A CEO Andrew Cathy declines to comment on LGBTQ+ rights biased?
- Chick-fil-A CEO Andrew Cathy declines to comment on LGBTQ+ rights is one event reported by 16 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Chick-fil-A CEO Andrew Cathy declines to comment on LGBTQ+ rights?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Chick-fil-A CEO Andrew Cathy declines to comment on LGBTQ+ rights?
- 16 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What did Chick-fil-A CEO Andrew Cathy say about LGBTQ+ rights?
- Andrew Cathy stated that everyone is welcome at Chick-fil-A restaurants and that the company is focused on hospitality and serving great food. However, he declined to directly comment on the company's stance on LGBTQ+ rights when asked by interviewer Craig Melvin.
- What is Chick-fil-A's past connection to LGBTQ+ issues?
- In 2012, Andrew Cathy's father, Dan Cathy, publicly stated the company was against same-sex marriage. Chick-fil-A's foundation also made donations to organizations seen as anti-LGBTQ+. In 2019, the company announced it would stop funding such groups and focus on other charitable areas.
- How much did Chick-fil-A make last year?
- Chick-fil-A reported nearly $24 billion in sales last year. The company remains family-owned and has expanded its operations to countries including Canada, the United Kingdom, and Singapore.
Read it at the source
16 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
13- Chick-fil-A’s CEO dodges question on company’s stance on LGBTQ+ rights (opens The Independent (US) in a new tab)
The Independent (US) — is The Independent (US) biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Chick-fil-A’s CEO dodges question on company’s stance on LGBTQ+ rights (opens The Independent in a new tab)
The Independent — is The Independent biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Chick-fil-A bet on chicken 60 years ago. Now it’s America’s third largest restaurant chain (opens NBC News in a new tab)
- Chick-fil-A’s CEO was asked about his company’s position on LGBTQ rights. This is what he said (opens NBC Washington in a new tab)
NBC Washington — is NBC Washington biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Chick-fil-A’s CEO was asked about his company’s position on LGBTQ rights. This is what he said (opens NBC Philadelphia in a new tab)
NBC Philadelphia — is NBC Philadelphia biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Chick-fil-A’s CEO was asked about his company’s position on LGBTQ rights. This is what he said (opens NBC New York in a new tab)
NBC New York — is NBC New York biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Chick-fil-A’s CEO was asked about his company’s position on LGBTQ rights. This is what he said (opens NBC Miami in a new tab)
- Chick-fil-A’s CEO was asked about his company’s position on LGBTQ rights. This is what he said (opens NBC Connecticut in a new tab)
NBC Connecticut — is NBC Connecticut biased? Our profile of this outlet
Show 5 more
- Chick-fil-A’s CEO was asked about his company’s position on LGBTQ rights. This is what he said (opens NBC Boston in a new tab)
NBC Boston — is NBC Boston biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Chick-fil-A’s CEO was asked about his company’s position on LGBTQ rights. This is what he said (opens NBC Dallas-Fort Worth in a new tab)
NBC Dallas-Fort Worth — is NBC Dallas-Fort Worth biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Chick-fil-A’s CEO was asked about his company’s position on LGBTQ rights. This is what he said (opens NBC San Diego in a new tab)
NBC San Diego — is NBC San Diego biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Chick-fil-A’s CEO was asked about his company’s position on LGBTQ rights. This is what he said (opens NBC Bay Area in a new tab)
NBC Bay Area — is NBC Bay Area biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Chick-fil-A’s CEO was asked about his company’s position on LGBTQ rights. This is what he said (opens NBC LA in a new tab)
Centre
1Right
1Not rated
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