George Clooney Reacts to Child Labor Claims Against Nespresso

George Clooney is responding to child labor claims aimed at Nespresso, for which he is a brand ambassador.

The 58-year-old Up in the Air actor is both “surprised and saddened” by the allegations against the coffee company.

The British documentary program Dispatches says in an upcoming episode that Nespresso and Starbucks use beans picked by young children who work long, “grueling” shifts in Guatemala.

“Honestly I was surprised and saddened to see this story,” George told USA Today. “Clearly this board and this company still have work to do. And that work will be done.”

George urged Dispatches to continue investigating farm conditions to offer a “check and balance of good corporate responsibility.”

“I’m enormously proud of the success of their efforts,” he continued. “They’ve risked their lives trying to rebuild farms in South Sudan and spent a year on the ground helping farmers restore their farms in Puerto Rico after the hurricane. The simple truth is that this program is overwhelmingly positive for coffee farmers around the world.”

Nespresso CEO Guillaume Le Cunff added, “Where there are claims that our high standards are not met, we act immediately. We’ve launched a thorough investigation to find out which farms were filmed and whether they supply Nespresso. We will not resume purchases of coffee from farms in this area until the investigation is closed.”

ICYMI, George Clooney is directing and starring in a new movie for Netflix.