Ben & Jerry’s has accused its parent company Unilever of removing its CEO because of his support of the company’s political activism, according to a late Tuesday federal court filing.
The ice cream company, known for its liberal and pro-Palestinian stances, claimed that Unilever informed the Board on March 3 that it planned to remove and replace chief executive David Stever without the approval of the advisory board. The act, Ben & Jerry’s claims, goes against the acquisition deal signed in 2000.
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“Unilever has repeatedly threatened Ben & Jerry’s personnel, including CEO David Stever, should they fail to comply with Unilever’s efforts to silence the social mission,” the court filing said. Ben & Jerry’s did not respond to TIME’s request for comment.
The ice cream company first filed a lawsuit against Unilever in November related to Unilever’s alleged censorship of their political values.
“In line with the terms of the acquisition agreement, decisions on the appointment, compensation and removal of the Ben & Jerry’s CEO will be made by Unilever after good faith consultation and discussion with the B&J’s Independent Board,” Unilever told TIME in an emailed statement. “Regrettably, despite repeated attempts to engage the Board and follow the correct process, we are disappointed that the confidentiality of an employee career conversation has been made public. We hope that the B&J Independent Board will engage as per the original, agreed process.”
Here’s what to know.
Ben & Jerry’s has a history of political activism
Since the company’s start in 1978, Ben & Jerry’s has been a staunch advocate for social justice initiatives, standing in favor of LGBTQ+ rights, fair trade practices, and against racism. One of the company’s first forays into political activism came when the company issued a statement in 1989 against recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH), due to its potential impact on family farming and “public confidence in the wholesomeness of dairy products,” the ice cream company says in its about page.
The ice cream giant has also participated in different campaigns, advocating for the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act, campaign finance reform policies, and Black Lives Matter.
Still, the brand has continuously called itself nonpartisan. “We don’t support candidates or political parties nor do we make contributions to candidates, parties, or super PACS, and we never have. It is clear to us that elected representatives in government are supposed to represent people, not corporations,” their website reads.
How we got here
In 2000, Ben & Jerry’s became a subsidiary of Unilever, which owns other well-known ice cream companies such as Wall’s and Magnum. Under the acquisition, the food company maintains an independent board of directors with the intention of maintaining their own product quality and social mission.
While Ben & Jerry’s has made headlines for their support of Palestinians following the start of the Israel-Hamas War, the brand had already expressed such beliefs. In 2021, the company announced in a statement that it would no longer sell ice cream in “occupied Palestinian territory,” Doing so, they said, would be inconsistent with their values.
“We have a longstanding partnership with our licensee, who manufactures Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in Israel and distributes it in the region. We have been working to change this, and so we have informed our licensee that we will not renew the license agreement when it expires at the end of next year,” the statement reads. “Although Ben & Jerry’s will no longer be sold in the OPT, we will stay in Israel through a different arrangement. We will share an update on this as soon as we’re ready.”
The decision to release a statement that mentioned continued sales of the product in Israel went against the board’s wishes, NBC News previously reported. “I am saddened by the deceit of it,” Anuradha Mittal, chair of the company’s independent board, told NBC. “This is not about Israel. It is about the violation of the acquisition agreement that maintained the soul of the company. I can’t stop thinking that this is what happens when you have a board with all women and people of color who have been pushing to do the right thing.”
In November 2024, Ben & Jerry’s filed a lawsuit against Unilever due to their alleged threats of censorship. The initial complaint alleges that Unilever tried to dismantle the board and prevent it from calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, or the end of U.S. military assistance to Israel. More recently, the amended complaint claims that Unilever refused to allow Ben & Jerry’s to post their support for Mahmoud Khalil, the green card holder and pro-Palestinian activist who is currently being detained by ICE.
Unilever has filed a motion to dismiss the complaint, saying that it does not want to appear to “be taking sides on the Gaza conflict and/or associating itself with organizations that supported Hamas’s attack on Israel and its abduction of hundreds of hostages and made highly divisive comments about Israel.”
What happens next?
It is unclear what effect the ongoing lawsuit will have on the company, but Unilever announced in May 2024 that it would be spinning off its ice cream businesses by the end of 2025.
A court date for a hearing about the complaint has not yet been set.
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