Ben & Jerry's Sues Unilever Over CEO Firing
Ben & Jerry’s Sues Parent Company For Allegedly Firing CEO Over Social Activism And Anti-Trump Ties
Source: Mike Kemp / Getty
For a while, Ben & Jerry’s looked like it was going to be one of the relatively few companies Black people could still support without giving their dollars to companies that bowed down to the Trump administration amid its white nationalist war on all things diversity, equity, and inclusion. But now the dessert company that drew the outrage of MAGA-fied consumers by refusing to participate in President Donald Trump’s Make Jim Crow Great Again agenda is grappling with its parent company, Unilever, which fired Ben & Jerry’s CEO over the company’s history of social activism, according to attorneys representing the ice cream giant.
According to Newsweek, Ben & Jerry’s has filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Unilever in Manhattan, New York, accusing Unilever of undermining the company and silencing its management team from issuing progressive statements, including statements in support of Palestine and, of course, statements critical of Trump and his administration full of bigoted Constitution tramplers who pretend to be advocates for free speech. On Wednesday, Ben & Jerry’s legal team filed a proposed second amended complaint, accusing Unilever of firing the company’s chief executive, David Stever — who had been with the company for three decades — because Stever was trying to advance a “social mission” for the company.
Apparently, Unilever takes issues with Ben & Jerry’s being tied to progressive activism, but it has no issue with its own ties to a MAGA advocate who has a history of publicly dry-humping Trump’s leg (metaphorically, of course).
From Newsweek:
In its court filing, Ben & Jerry’s also accused Unilever of trying to stop it from issuing any public statement against Trump or releasing a Pecan Resist ice cream that was marketed to people who disliked Trump.
“Unilever’s objection to mentioning ‘Trump’ coincides with its prominent board member, Nelson Peltz, publicly supporting Mr. Trump,” it states.
Peltz, a billionaire financier, said in March, 2024 that he would vote for Trump, Reuters reported at the time, and he has made favorable statements about Trump since then.
It also alleges that Ben & Jerry’s wanted to release an anti-Trump statement in time for Trump’s inauguration on January 20, but were blocked by Peter ter Kelve, Unilever’s President of Ice Cream.
“Within twenty-four hours of Mr. ter Kelve blocking the Inauguration Post on the grounds that it was ‘partisan,’ he hosted an Ice Cream town hall, where he publicly touted that Mr. Peltz had been the one to introduce Elon Musk to Donald Trump.”
“According to Mr. ter Kelve, despite four decades of progressive social activism—and years of challenging policies under both Democratic and Republican presidents—criticizing Trump was now too taboo for the brand synonymous with ‘Peace, Love, and Ice Cream,'” Ben & Jerry’s court filing alleges.
It’s difficult to tell if these corporations are just so fearful of Trump and that they’re scrambling to fall in line with his administration’s anti-DEI warpath, or if the MAGA messiah has simply given them the green light to be the conservative, white nationalist-friendly organizations they always wanted to be.
Either way, it’s good to see companies like Ben & Jerry’s are still fighting the good fight. Salute!
