Malia Obama was spotted enjoying a meal at Chick-fil-A on Thursday, despite the fast food chain – which is run by a conservative and devout Christian who has publicly bashed same sex marriage – donating millions of dollars to anti-gay groups in the past.
The eldest daughter of Former President Barack Obama, 24, hit up one of the chicken restaurant’s drive-throughs in Los Angeles, California, before dropping off her younger sister, Sasha’s boyfriend, Clifton Powell Jr., at the airport.
And while her father has helped bring LGTBQ+ rights to the forefront, Malia didn’t seem to mind that Chick-fil-A’s right-wing owner has spoken out against the community numerous times in the past.
Chick-fil-A was founded in 1946 by S. Truett Cathy, who was a member of the Southern Baptist Church and used many of his religious views to structure the company. His son, Dan T. Cathy, then took over as president in 2013 – one year before Truett passed away from diabetic complications.
Over the years, Dan has made many negative comments about same-sex marriage, especially after it came to light that the restaurant chain had donated millions of dollars to various anti-LQTBQ groups through the WinShape Foundation.
Malia Obama was spotted enjoying a meal at Chick-fil-A on Thursday, despite the fast food chain – which is run by a conservative and devout Christian who has bashed same sex marriage – donating millions of dollars to anti-gay groups
The eldest daughter of Former President Barack Obama, 24, hit up one of the chicken restaurant’s drive-throughs in Los Angeles, California, before dropping off her younger sister, Sasha’s boyfriend, Clifton Powell Jr., at the airport
She was seen placing her order from the drivers-seat window, while Sasha’s beau sat next to her in the passenger seat
While her father has helped bring LGTBQ+ rights to the forefront, Malia didn’t seem to mind that Chick-fil-A’s right-wing owner has spoken out against the community numerous times in the past
Chick-fil-A was founded in 1946 by S. Truett Cathy (left), who was a member of the Southern Baptist Church and used many of his religious views to structure the company. His son, Dan T. Cathy (right), then took over as president in 2013
Back in 2012, Dan slammed people who ‘have the audacity to define what marriage is about,’ calling them ‘arrogant’ during an explosive radio interview.
‘I think we are inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say, “We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage,”‘ he stated.
‘I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to define what marriage is about.’
GLAAD reported at the time that Chick-fil-A had given more than $5 million to ‘hate groups’ which pushed ‘ex-gay therapy’ in an attempt to turn gay people straight.
Then, months later, Dan told Baptist Press that Chick-fil-A was ‘an organization operating on biblical principles’ and that he only supports the ‘traditional family.’
‘We are very much supportive of the family – the biblical definition of the family unit,’ he said. ‘We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles.’
His statements and the donations led to a slew of customers boycotting the fast food joint – and in September 2012, the restaurant chain announced that it had ‘ceased donating to organizations that promote discrimination, specifically against LGBT civil rights.’
Malia’s dad dedicated much of his presidency to promoting equal rights, and in 2011, he announced the Department of Justice would no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act’s provision, which defined marriage as only between a man and woman
Malia, who is currently working on Donald Glover’s upcoming Amazon project, kept it casual for the outing, donning figure-hugging, patterned purple biker shorts, a gray zip-up hoodie, and tan sandals
The Harvard grad kept her long, braided hair loose for the first part of the day, before putting it up in a bun
After bringing Clifton Jr. to the airport, Malia then met up with a girlfriend for a workout at SoulCycle
In response to the backlash, it also said in a statement that Chick-fil-A believes in treating ‘every person with honor, dignity and respect regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender.’
‘We will continue this tradition in the over 1,600 Restaurants run by independent owner/operators,’ it stated. ‘Going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.’
During his eight-year presidency, President Obama dedicated much of his time to promoting equal rights, and in February 2011, he announced that the Department of Justice would no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act’s provision, which defined marriage as only between a man and woman.
Malia, who is currently working on Donald Glover’s upcoming Amazon project, kept it casual for the outing, donning figure-hugging, patterned purple biker shorts, a gray zip-up hoodie, and tan sandals.
She was seen placing her order from the drivers-seat window, while Sasha’s beau sat next to her in the passenger seat. After bringing him to the airport, she then met up with a girlfriend for a workout at SoulCycle.
The Harvard grad kept her long, braided hair loose for the first part of the day, before putting it up in a bun. She clutched onto her phone, wallet, keys, and a water bottle, and appeared in good spirits as she chatted with her pal and made her way into the workout studio.
She clutched onto her phone, wallet, keys, and a water bottle, and appeared in good spirits as she chatted with her pal and made her way into the workout studio
Malia moved to Los Angeles after graduating from Harvard to pursue a career as a screenwriter. In March, Donald revealed that he had given Malia her first job as a writer on his new series, which is reportedly about ‘a Beyoncé-type character’
Donald said he believed that Malia has a promising future in the industry, telling Variety, ‘I feel like she’s just somebody who’s gonna have really good things coming soon. Her writing style is great’
Malia moved to Los Angeles after graduating from Harvard to pursue a career as a screenwriter. In March, Donald revealed that he had given Malia her first job as a writer on his new series, which is reportedly about ‘a Beyoncé-type character,’ calling her ‘amazingly talented’ and ‘really focused.’
‘She’s just like, an amazingly talented person,’ Donald, 38, who is also known by his stage name Childish Gambino, told Vanity Fair of Malia. ‘She’s really focused, and she’s working really hard.’
Donald did not share how Malia – who previously interned on Lena Dunham’s HBO series Girls in 2015 and at The Weinstein Company in 2017 – landed the job after she graduated from college last year.
Donald added that he believed that Malia has a promising future in the industry, telling the publication, ‘I feel like she’s just somebody who’s gonna have really good things coming soon. Her writing style is great.’
While Malia is working as a screenwriter, her younger sister, Sasha, 21, is also building her own life in Los Angeles – reportedly studying at the University of Southern California after transferring from the University of Michigan.
DailyMail.com exclusively revealed a few months ago that she was in a relationship with Clifton Jr., 24, who is the son of Ray actor Clifton Powell.
Clifton Jr. and Sasha are understood to have met after she relocated to the West Coast, and he is already close with the family, as this wasn’t the first time that he was seen hanging out with Malia.
While Sasha has been linked to Clifton Jr. in recent months, Malia’s relationship status is unclear following her move to Los Angeles
She started dating Rory Farquharson – the son of chief executive of Insight Investment Management Limited Charles – in 2017 while they were both students at Harvard University
However, whether she and Rory are still together is unknown, as she has never publicly addressed her relationship status
Sasha and Malia’s mother, former First Lady Michelle Obama, previously opened up about how both of her daughters are all grown up during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show back in April.
Ellen, 64, reminded Michelle, 58, of how Sasha and Malia had first visited the show when they were little girls who wanted to see the Jonas Brothers. But over a decade later, they’ve graduated from boybands to boyfriends.
‘Now they’re bringing grown men home,’ she said. ‘Now they have boyfriends and real lives and all that stuff. They have grown up right before our very eyes and they are doing well.’
While Michelle gushed about the ‘amazing young women’ her daughters have become – ‘Women, I know! Scary,’ she said – and divulged that they were dating, she was much more discreet about the details of their love lives.
While Sasha has been linked to Clifton Jr. in recent months, Malia’s relationship status is unclear following her move to Los Angeles.
She started dating Rory Farquharson – the son of chief executive of Insight Investment Management Limited Charles – in 2017 while they were both students at Harvard University.
However, whether she and Rory are still together is unknown, as she has never publicly addressed her relationship status.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk