"Succession" actor James Cromwell super-glued himself to a Starbucks counter as part of PETA's vegan milk protest
James Cromwell, "Succession" actor and honorary director of PETA, superglued himself to a Starbucks counter in New York City on Tuesday. Cromwell glued his hand to the counter at a Midtown, Manhattan location to call on Starbucks to stop charging extra for vegan milk.
PETA, which stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, live-streamed the "glue-in" on Facebook. The video shows several other protesters holding signs and chanting "save the planet, save the cows." Police officers showed up and asked the demonstrators to disperse.
Cromwell and another man, however, appeared to have stayed inside longer than other protesters, their hands stuck to the counter near the cash registers.
They eventually freed their hands from the glue, as police officers watched.
Cromwell, who plays Ewan Roy in "Succession," has appeared in several TV shows and films since the 1970s, including roles on "Six Feet Under," "ER" and "Dallas."
"My friends at PETA and I are calling on Starbucks to stop punishing kind and environmentally conscious customers for choosing plant milks," Cromwell said in a statement. "We all have a stake in the life-and-death matter of the climate catastrophe, and Starbucks should do its part by ending its vegan upcharge."
In a press release, PETA called the dairy industry "a major producer of the greenhouse gases that contribute to the climate catastrophe" and claimed it "is responsible for immense animal suffering."
On its website, PETA says, "It's awesome that Starbucks offers so many delicious vegan milk options" but with more people "ditching dairy and going vegan to help animals, save the environment, and improve their own health," Starbucks shouldn't charge extra for dairy-free milks.
The animal rights group said its campaign against Starbucks also included a letter from Paul McCartney to former Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson, as well as daily sit-ins at Starbucks' headquarters in Seattle.
They also said RISE Brewing Co., which sells canned coffee drinks, has handed out their nitro cold brew mochas, made with oat milk – a vegan option – in front of Starbucks locations across the U.S. as part of the protest.
In a statement to CBS News, a representative for Starbucks said: "We respect our customers' rights to respectfully voice their opinions so long as it does not disrupt our store operations."
