IMG_1533Noted famous people Clay Aiken and Raven-Symone were at the Fairview Dairy Bar in Sanford on Wednesday morning to film a segment for ABC Television’s “The View.”

Steve Brewer, who owns the Dairy Bar, said the network reached out to him Tuesday evening and asked if Aiken, Symone and their crew could use the restaurant as a filming location to discuss North Carolina’s controversial House Bill 2 with patrons.

“I think he’ll find people on both sides of it,” Brewer said. “And that’s what he said he wanted, to get both sides.”

Aiken and Symone declined to be interviewed, but before filming began Aiken could be heard explaining to Symone why he wanted to film in Sanford.

“This is Sanford, which is about 40 minutes outside of Raleigh,” he could be heard saying. “This place just sort of feels like a microcosm of the whole state.”

Aiken, a North Carolina native, ran for Congress in 2014 in what was then North Carolina’s Second Congressional District, which included Sanford and Lee County.

Aiken and Symone then went to various tables and sat talking with patrons about the controversial IMG_1541legislation, which prevents transgender individuals from using public bathrooms for the gender with which they identify. Supporters of the bill say it was aimed at preventing sexual predators from preying on children in public bathrooms; opponents have pointed to a number of issues including provisions which appear to make various forms of discrimination legal. Stories about the law’s negative economic impact have been abundant, and the state and federal governments have filed competing lawsuits over its implementation.

Brewer seemed glad to have the company, regardless of the politics. He said he was surprised to hear from the TV crew.

“I asked them why they wanted to use my restaurant, and they told me because Clay really liked it,” Brewer said. “They said he said we had the best banana pudding around.”

There was no word Wednesday on when the segment will air.