Forest Whitaker was frisked in a New York City deli Friday morning when workers thought he had stolen an item off the shelf, New York Post reports Feb. 16. The Oscar-winning actor was patted down in full view of everyone by a store employee as he was leaving the Milano Market on Broadway.
The worker came up with nothing after checking Whitaker out for carrying a stolen item. The actor's spokeswoman, Jennifer Plante, said his rights were violated.
“This was an upsetting incident given the fact that Forest did nothing more than walk into the deli,” Plante said. “Forest did not call the authorities at the request of the worker who was in fear of losing his employment.”
Whitaker's driver, Reggie Crupe, was waiting for him outside while he was inside the deli. He said a deli employee explained why it looked like the actor took something out of the store.
“An employee from the store came outside to speak with him and to apologize,” Crupe said in a statement. “He told Mr. Whitaker that the cameras in the store were at a bad angle and that he could not see if Forest had stolen anything.”
The report went on to say that store employees have denied the frisking incident took place.
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