Oscar-nominated actor and Succession star James Cromwell glued himself to the counter in a New York City Starbucks to protest the coffee company’s surcharge on vegan milk. The 82-year-old sat on the counter he’d stuck himself to and read out a pre-prepared statement criticising the coffee chain’s surcharge as harmful and discriminatory.
“More than 13,000 customers have asked you, now we’re asking you,” he protested. “Will you stop charging more for vegan milk? When will you stop raking in huge profits while customers, animals and the environment suffer? When will you stop penalising people for their ethnicities, their morals?”
The actor was joined by other activists from the animal rights organisation PETA and wore a ‘Free the Animals’ t-shirt. During his impassioned speech, Cromwell attacked the senseless suffering of cows arguing they experience the heartbreak of losing their calves again and again despite the fact that “they suffer no less than human mothers would.” After this, he used a butter knife and nail polish remover to separate himself from the counter and left. Police say no arrests were made.
“Customers can customise any beverage on the menu with a non-dairy milk, including soymilk, coconut milk, almond milk, and oat milk for an additional cost (similar to other beverage customizations such as an additional espresso shot or syrup),” a Starbucks spokesperson said in a statement, via Sky News. “Pricing varies market by market.”
— PETA (@peta) May 10, 2022
The spokesperson added Starbucks respects the right of people to voice their opinions as long as it does not disrupt the running of its stores. Starbucks adds 50 cents to a dollar to the cost of a drink that uses vegan milk alternatives.
Cromwell is perhaps best known, by a certain generation, for his role in the family movie Babe but in recent years he’s dazzled audiences by playing Ewan, the petulant anti-capitalist brother of Logan Roy, in the HBO TV series Succession. For more on that check out our guide on the Succession season 4 release date.