Ben & Jerry’s accuses Unilever of gagging its mouths over Trump by Reuters

Written by Jessica DiNapoli and Jonathan Stemple

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Ben & Jerry’s Inc has intensified its censorship lawsuit against it Unilever (LON:) On Friday, its parent company was accused of suppressing a social policy statement the US ice cream maker wanted to issue because it mentioned President Donald Trump.

The allegation came in an amended complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, where Ben & Jerry’s in November accused Unilever of silencing its attempts to express support for Palestinian refugees, halting military aid to Israel, and threatening to dismantle its independent board of directors.

Ben & Jerry’s wants a court order allowing the board to continue oversight of its social mission, and to require Unilever to fulfill its commitment to make $25 million in payments to groups chosen by the ice cream company.

Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The two companies have been at loggerheads 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 they conflict with the company’s values.

This led some investors to divest Unilever shares, and led to Ben & Jerry’s suing the parent company for selling its Israeli business to a local licensee.

The settlement in 2022 required Unilever to honor Ben & Jerry’s independent board and its social mission, as well as make $25 million in payments.

London-based Unilever has since announced plans to spin out its ice cream business, including Ben & Jerry’s, to simplify its product range and cut costs. But a lawsuit could complicate those plans.

“That doesn’t help it, because anytime there’s a cloud over it, it becomes harder to sell or rotate,” said Charles Elson, a retired researcher at the University of Delaware. “That affects people’s interpretation of its value.” Professor and expert in corporate governance.

Donald Trump, Nelson Peltz, and Elon Musk

In the amended complaint, Ben & Jerry’s said its management and board, with input from Unilever’s global head of litigation, worked after Trump’s election on a publication to be released on Inauguration Day, discussing hot-button issues such as abortion, climate change, minimum wages and universal health care.

But on January 18, two days before Trump’s inauguration, Peter ter Kolve, head of Unilever’s ice cream division, “unilaterally blocked Ben & Jerry’s from issuing the post because it specifically mentioned ‘Donald Trump’.” , according to the complaint.

Ben & Jerry’s said Ter Kulf appeared to base his decision on intuition, while ignoring the company’s history of challenging the Trump administration.

She also said that Ter Kulve soon held a town hall meeting where he recounted how Unilever board member and activist investor Nelson Peltz, a Trump supporter, introduced the president to Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla (NASDAQ:) and a close Trump advisor.

The complaint states that according to Ter Kulf, “Despite four decades of progressive social activism — and years of specifically challenging Trump administration policies — criticizing Trump is now too taboo for a brand synonymous with ‘peace, love, and ice cream.’”

Many companies in retail, banking and other sectors this month scaled back support for programs whose perceived social impact has drawn opposition from Trump and his supporters.

Resistance to payments

Founded by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield in a renovated gas station in 1978, Ben & Jerry’s maintained its social mission after it was purchased by Unilever in 2000.

According to the amended complaint, Ben & Jerry’s plans to direct $5 million from Unilever to human rights groups, and $20 million over 10 years to support Palestinian almond farmers and a longtime fair-trade almond supplier.

She said that Unilever opposed paying the $5 million because it believed it would support “Palestinian human rights,” and did not pay the second installment of $2.5 million.

Ben & Jerry’s also said Ter Kulve resisted paying the $20 million because it didn’t like the 2022 settlement and hadn’t heard of the almond supplier.

Dozens of other Unilever products include Dove soap, Hellmann’s mayonnaise, Knorr stock cubes, Surf detergent and Vaseline Vaseline.