Thandie Newton slams Starbucks for offensive display, receives apology

LONDON, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- Actress Thandie Newton has received an apology from Starbucks after she slammed the coffee giant for an offensive display she came across in one of their stores.

Earlier this week, Newton tweeted out to her followers an offensive statue she noticed at a Starbucks location in London to promote Colombian coffee beans.

"Seriously @Starbucks? At the counter - Loin cloth and Safari hat on a black child. Happy New Year circa 19th century," the Crash star tweeted on Monday bringing awareness to the statue.

The display was seen as offensive for depicting a dark-skinned child wearing a loin cloth and safari hat while holding a bowl of Colombian beans.

Starbucks quickly issued an apology to the actress on Twitter writing, "we are very concerned to learn of this incident & we can't apologize enough. We have removed the figure & are investigating."

The company then issued an official statement on the display after it started to draw attention on social media. "Serving as a welcoming place for everyone is core to who we are as a company. As we became aware of the offense, we immediately removed the figure from our store. We aim to provide an inclusive environment for all customers and communities in which we serve, and we are working with our partners (employees) to avoid similar incidents from happening in the future. We apologize for the offense caused."

Starbucks is recently coming off its holiday red cup controversy in which plain red cups the coffee shop used during the holidays were deemed by some as part of a war on Christmas.