Ben & Jerry's Calls Out Unilever for Silencing Social Advocacy

Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream claims that its parent company, Unilever, fired its CEO due to the brand's political stance.

Ben & Jerry's Alleges Unilever Censored the Brand

The ice cream brand filed an amended complaint with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. In the amendment to its original lawsuit, the brand claims that Unilever "has repeatedly failed to recognize and respect the Independent Board’s primary responsibility over Ben & Jerry’s Social Mission and Brand Integrity, including threatening Ben & Jerry’s personnel should the company speak out regarding issues ~~which~~that Unilever prefers to censor."

Ben & Jerry's CEO David Stever Reportedly Removed March 3, 2025

Unilever reportedly removed Ben & Jerry's CEO David Stever on March 3, 2025. According to MSNBC, the firing violated a merger agreement from 2000 that allowed Ben & Jerry's independent board to maintain "primary responsibility" for the brand's integrity and social mission.

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Ben & Jerry's is Well Known For the Brand's Activism

Ben & Jerry's has a long history of corporate activism through its ice cream flavors including 2002's "One Sweet Whirled" to raise money for the environment and 2018's "Pecan Resist" which according to a brand history from Quartz was intended to protest Trump's policy's.

In fact, the Vermont-based brand, founded in 1978, is known not just for outspoken advocacy on issues ranging from climate change to economic inequality, but also for expressing its social values in the form of limited-edition frozen desserts. The Peace Pop, for example, introduced in 1988, promoted 1% for Peace, a nonprofit founded by Ben & Jerry’s owners promoting international peace efforts.

Wish To Practice Some Activism of Your Own?

If you don't eat their ice cream, you may not care much. Perhaps, you do care, and want to know how you can participate in your own form of social activism. Should you wish to monetarily voice your dissent, Unilever is the parent company for a number of brands you may be familiar with including:

Axe
Dove
Hellman's
Knorr
Liquid IV
Pond's
Paula's Choice
Pepsodent
TREsemme
Vaseline
and more

Learn more about the lawsuit between Unilever and Ben & Jerry's here.

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Gallery Credit: Liz Barrett Foster