Philadelphia comedian Kevin Hart has responded to the controversial incident that took place at a Center City Philadelphia Starbucks resulting in the arrests of two men.
The ‘Jumanji’ actor tweeted the following message to Starbucks Sunday morning:
“Message to the @Starbucks in Philadelphia….Our city is shining bright like a diamond right now. Please make this situation right. I repeat please make this situation right!!!!!!! Once again MAKE THIS RIGHT”
In a video posted to social media that has been viewed more than 8 million times, Philadelphia police officers can be seen arresting two black men Thursday inside the store at 18th and Spruce streets while other patrons ask ‘What did they do wrong?’
Melissa DePino@missydepino@Starbucks The police were called because these men hadn’t ordered anything. They were waiting for a friend to show up, who did as they were taken out in handcuffs for doing nothing. All the other white ppl are wondering why it’s never happened to us when we do the same thing.
In a follow-up tweet, Hart also questioned why the men were arrested.
@Sarbucks in Philadelphia I have watched the video and do not see these to [sic] young men doing anything wrong….Unless there is footage that shows otherwise you need to do what’s right and handle the manager that was on duty accordingly,” Hart tweeted.
Kevin Hart✔@KevinHart4real@Starbucks in Philadelphia I have watched the video and do not see these to young men doing anything wrong….Unless there is footage that shows otherwise you need to do what’s right and handle the manager that was on duty accordingly.
Hart added that this is not a boycott of Starbucks.
“Let’s make one thing very clear….This is not a boycott @Starbucks situation….This is horrible management. The manager on duty was wrong. It’s that simple…That’s who needs to take responsibility for this wrong doing,” Hart tweeted.
Kevin Hart
✔@KevinHart4real
Let’s make one thing very clear….This is not a boycott @Starbucks situation….This is horrible management. The manager on duty was wrong. It’s that simple…That’s who needs to take responsibility for this wrong doing.
Attorney Lauren Wimmer, who represents the two men, told Action News her clients were innocently waiting for a third person to conduct a business meeting. She said it was the manager at the Starbucks who called the police, and that her clients weren’t doing anything wrong.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross said the department’s internal investigation revealed the officers who responded to the scene acted appropriately, and in accordance with police guidelines.
“We apologize to the two individuals and our customers and are disappointed this led to an arrest. We take these matters seriously and clearly have more work to do when it comes to how we handle incidents in our stores. We are reviewing our policies and will continue to engage with the community and the police department to try to ensure these types of situations never happen in any of our stores.”Later that night, Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson issued another apology, saying the company is investigating and will make any necessary changes to their practices. He also says he hopes to meet the two men personally to offer a face-to-face apology.
