SHAME SHAME SHAME

Published February 17, 2013 | By

# 1. Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker’s visit to a Morningside Heights gourmet deli came with a side order of stop and frisk. The “Bird” star was accused of shoplifting and patted down Friday around lunchtime by an overzealous employee at the Milano Market, according to Whitaker’s publicist. The encounter was confirmed by a store employee. The humiliating episode came as Whitaker, who won the Academy Award for his 2006 portrayal of Idi Ami, was walking out. The suspicious worker stopped Whitaker, charging that he stole something from the store shelves. “It was around lunchtime and the store was packed,” said a Milano employee who refused to give his name. “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.” Many stars frequent the Columbia University-area gourmet deli specializing in Italian fare. Tobey McGuire and Sarah Jessica Parker have been spotted at the upscale grocery. Still, 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,” said his publicist, Jennifer Plante. “What is most unfortunate about this situation is the inappropriate way store employees are treating patrons of their establishment.” Whitaker, who lives in California, was in New York working on a project this week. His assistant said the actor, whose credits include “The Crying Game” and “Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai,” was on the set and unavailable to discuss the incident. According to Plante, the 51-year-old Whitaker 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.

# 2. An Idaho man slapped a 19-month-old crying toddler during a flight to Atlanta and told his mother to “shut that n—-r baby up,” according to court papers. Joe Hundley, 60, was charged with federal assault and could face up to one year in prison, according to an FBI affidavit. Hundley, president of Unitech Composites and Structures, an aircraft parts manufacturer in Idaho, apparently could not deal with the baby’s whimpers as a Delta Airlines flight descended in Atlanta Feb. 8, reported The Smoking Gun. Jessica Bennett, 33, the boy’s mother, said they boarded the plane in her home city of Minneapolis. She said Hundley “reeked of alcohol,” was “stumbling around wasted” and drank multiple double vodkas during the flight. She suspects he was drunk before boarding the airplane. Hundley claimed he merely asked Bennett to silence the child and drank a single alcoholic beverage. In a statement provided to KARE-TV, Bennett said that her son is now apprehensive of strangers and that the family has a lot of questions how Hundley could get so out of control. She also said the situation has caused emotional trauma to the entire family. Hundley plans to plead not guilty to the assault charge, his lawyer said.