James Cromwell, known for his roles in "Babe" and "Succession," superglued his hand to the counter of a downtown Manhattan Starbucks on Tuesday in protest of its "senseless upcharge" for nondairy milk.
"More than 13,000 customers have asked you. Now we're asking: Will you stop charging more for vegan milk? When will you stop raking in huge profits while customers, animals, and the environment suffer?" the actor says from the counter in video footage of the protest, which included members of PETA, where Cromwell serves as an honorary director, the Washington Post reported.
Clad in a black T-shirt with the words "Free the Animals" emblazoned across the front, Cromwell slammed the dairy industry for causing cows to "suffer."
"Cows produce milk for the same reason humans do: to nourish their young. But in the dairy industry, they give birth, and their babies are taken from them almost immediately so that their milk can be sold. Mother cows cry for their infants for days," he says. "They suffer no less than human mothers would."
Cromwell later leads the crowd of protesters in a chant, saying, "Save the planet, save the cows. Stop this vegan upcharge now." The baristas behind the counter for the most part continued to work as normal until the police arrived to tell customers that the Starbucks was closed.
Cromwell and another protester who also superglued himself to the counter, both detached themselves and left.
"We respect our customers' rights to respectfully voice their opinions so long as it does not disrupt our store operations," a Starbucks spokesperson said in a statement, according to the Post. "Customers can customize any beverage on the menu with a nondairy milk, including soy, coconut, almond, and oat for an additional cost (similar to other beverage customizations such as an additional espresso shot or syrup). Pricing varies market by market."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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