NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Actor and activist James Cromwell has gone from 鈥淪uccession鈥檚鈥� Uncle Ewan to real-life supergluin鈥� 鈥� pasting his hand to a midtown Manhattan Starbucks counter on Tuesday to protest the coffee chain鈥檚 extra charge for plant-based milk.
The 82-year-old Oscar nominee, known for 鈥淏abe: Pig in the City鈥� and 鈥淟.A. Confidential,鈥� channeled his role as the crotchety, anti-capitalist brother of a billionaire media mogul for the protest organized by the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
Cromwell sat on the Starbucks counter wearing a "Free the Animals" T-shirt and read a statement denouncing the surcharge for vegan milk alternatives.
鈥淲hen will you stop raking in huge profits while customers, animals and the environment suffer?鈥� he demanded as fellow activists streamed the protest on
Cromwell glued his hand to the counter, then later used a knife to scrape it off. Police said there were no arrests.
Starbucks outlets in the United States charge 50 cents to a dollar more drinks made with plant-based milks.
鈥淐ustomers can customize any beverage on the menu with a non-dairy milk, including soymilk, coconutmilk, almondmilk, and oatmilk for an additional cost (similar to other beverage customizations such as an additional espresso shot or syrup)," a Starbucks spokesperson said in a statement. 鈥淧ricing varies market by market.鈥�
The spokesperson said Starbucks respects customers' right to voice their opinions 鈥渟o long as it does not disrupt our store operations.鈥�
Cromwell, nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the farmer in 鈥淏abe,鈥� is a veteran protester who was charged with trespassing in 2017 for at SeaWorld in San Diego.
The Associated Press
