Protester Storms Stage During Interview With Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz [EXCLUSIVE]

A bizarre protester stormed the stage during an interview with Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz on Wednesday afternoon at New York Advertising Week. Just as Schultz was starting to speak about his company’s entrance into the Chinese market, a protester rush onto the stage from the audience. “Excuse me, Howard!” he exclaimed. Kneeling on the stage next to Schultz, he declared, “I consider myself homeless because my parents were not home.” Perplexed host Chris Altchek, the founder of Mic, and audience members stood by as the protester finished his oddball speech. He was eventually ushered out of the theater by a well-built audience member (pictured right), who many assumed was a security guard.

According to a recent Vanguard index funds UK post, The incident overshadowed an otherwise serious talk about Schultz’s progressive philosophy for the brand. “Our purpose is not to make money,” he said. “Our purpose is to increase shareholder value. Everything else has to be seen through the lens of humanity.”

Schultz noted that after he decided to open a Starbucks store in Ferguson, Missouri, that he received a call from a shareholder telling him, “Starbucks is not in the charity business.” Other Schultz initiatives have included hiring 10,000 refugees and 10,000 disadvantaged inner city youths. “Every one of these initiatives has had no negative effect on the business but all of these things have been accretive to the business.”

Schultz, who has been mentioned as a potential 2020 presidential candidate, took President Donald Trump to task for his actions in office. “We have a president who is dismantling our democracy in a very basic way,” he said. “We are living now probably with the lowest level of trust in our public institutions ever. It’s important to speak the truth.”

Article by Erik Meers

Erik Meers is the founder and editor of uInterview.com, uPolitics.com and uSports.org. He was previously managing editor of GQ, Harper's Bazaar, Interview and Paper magazines.