Forest Whitaker was stopped and accused of stealing as he was leaving a store in New York on Saturday. According to his publicist, the Oscar winner was stopped and patted down by an employee at the Milano Market who accused him of stealing. ‘The Last King of Scotland’ star’s visit to a Morningside Heights gourmet deli came with a side order of stop and frisk. The humiliating episode came as Whitaker was walking out. “It was around lunchtime and the store was packed,” the New York Daily News quoted a Milano employee who refused to give his name as saying. “We were like 50 people deep. The person walked in and out really quickly so our person just made a mistake. The employee apologized immediately. It was an honest mistake. I’ve been here 14 years and nothing like this has ever happened,” the employee said. Whittaker’s representative said the star was troubled by the incident. “This was an upsetting incident given the fact that Forest did nothing more than walk into the deli,” publicist, Jennifer Plante said. “What is most unfortunate about this situation is the inappropriate way store employees are treating patrons of their establishment,” she said. According to Plante, the 51-year-old actor opted not to call the cops about the allegation – in part because the worker was afraid of getting fired. “Forest asked that, in the future, the store change their behavior and treat the public in a fair and just manner,” she said.
