A Hollywood actor protested against a surcharge on vegan milk at Starbucks by super-gluing his hand to a counter at their store in New York City, New York.
“When will you stop charging us more for vegan milk?!” yelled James Cromwell while reading from a prepared statement. “When will you stop raking in huge profits, while customers, animals and the environment suffer?!”
The Oscar-nominated actor was a part of a PETA protest that argued that the vegan milk surcharge punished people for being lactose intolerant, a condition which affects people of color at a higher rate than those of the white color.
“When will you stop penalizing people for their ethnicity or their morals?!” he continued. “The senseless up-charge hurts animals!”
Cromwell and other activists then chanted, “Save the planet, save the cows. Stop the vegan up-charge now!”
When police arrived and told them to leave, Cromwell and another activist who had also super-glued himself to the counter unattached themselves and left. They had been protesting for about half an hour.
The bizarre protest was lambasted online with many commenting that the activists appeared to be fighting for a very obscure “first world problem.”
“James Cromwell supergluing himself to a Starbucks counter in Manhattan to protest them charging extra for vegan milk is hands down the WHITEST s*** I’ve ever heard of in my f***in’ life,” read one very popular tweet.
Starbucks released a statement through a spokesperson about the event.
“We respect our customers’ right to respectfully voice their opinions, so long as it does not disrupt our store operations,” said spokesperson Elizabeth Summers.
The 82-year-old actor is a noted animal rights activist. Cromwell is best known for his roles in the movies “Babe,” “L.A. Confidential,” and the television show “Succession.”
Here’s a local news report about the brave protest:
“Succession” actor James Cromwell super-glues himself to Starbucks counter in protest www.youtube.com