Ben & Jerry’s accuses Unilever of defrauding Trump
By Jessica DiNapoli and Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Ben & Jerry’s filed suit against censorship. Unilever (LON: ) On Friday, the US ice cream maker accused its parent company of suppressing a social policy statement it wanted to release because it mentioned President Donald Trump.
The charges stemmed from a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court in which Ben & Jerry’s threatened to dissolve its independent board in November over Unilever’s attempts to express support for Palestinian refugees and military aid to Israel.
Ben & Jerry’s is asking for a court order to allow the board to maintain control of its social mission and for Unilever to honor its commitment to pay $25 million to groups selected by the ice cream company.
Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Both companies have been embroiled in a public dispute since 2021 when Ben & Jerry’s decided to stop selling Cherry Garcia, Chubby Hubby and other ice cream flavors in the Israeli-occupied West Bank because it was inconsistent with the company’s values.
This led some investors to sell Unilever shares, and Ben & Jerry’s sued their parents for selling the Israeli business to a local licensee.
In the year The 2022 deal obliges Unilever to uphold Ben & Jerry’s independent board and social mission, as well as pay $25 million.
London-based Unilever has since announced plans to streamline its product portfolio and cut costs at its ice cream business, including Ben & Jerry’s. But the lawsuit could complicate those plans.
“It doesn’t help because any time you have a cloud, it makes it harder to sell it or spin it off,” said Charles Elson, a retired University of Delaware professor and corporate governance expert.
Donald Trump, Nelson Peltz and Elon Musk
In the amended complaint, Ben & Jerry’s says its management and board acted on comments from Unilever’s head of global litigation after Trump’s election, discussing issues such as abortion, climate change, and the minimum wage in a post to be released on Inauguration Day. wages and universal health care.
But on January 18, two days before Trump’s inauguration, Unilever’s head of ice cream, Peter ter Culve, complained that “Ben & Jerry’s jointly blocked the post because it specifically mentioned ‘Donald Trump.'”
Ben & Jerry’s said Ter Kullv appeared to make the decision based on common sense, ignoring the company’s history of challenging the Trump administration.
Ter Kulv also said he recently held a town hall meeting with Tesla (NASDAQ:) founder and close Trump adviser Elon Musk, where Unilever board member and activist investor Nelson Peltz introduced the president.
The complaint, according to Ter Culve, is that despite four decades of social activism — and especially challenging the policies of the Trump administration — criticizing Trump is now too taboo for the ‘Peace, Love and Ice Cream’ brand. ”
Many companies in retail, banking and other sectors have curbed funding for social impact programs this month amid protests by Trump and his supporters.
Dealing with payments
Ben & Jerry’s was founded in 1978 by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield in a renovated gas station and has maintained its social consciousness since Unilever bought it in 2000.
According to the amended complaint, Ben & Jerry’s plans to give Unilever $5 million to human rights organizations and $20 million over 10 years to support Palestinian almond farmers and fair trade almond suppliers.
Unilever said it objected to the $5 million payment because it believed it supported “Palestinian human rights” and did not make the second $2.5 million payment.
Ben & Jerry’s also objected to the $20 million payment because ter Culve didn’t like the 2022 deal and didn’t listen to the almond supplier.
Unilever’s dozens of other products include Dove soap, Hellman’s mayonnaise, Knorr bouillon cubes, Surf soap and Vaseline petroleum jelly.