Ben & Jerry's accuses Unilever of muzzling it because of Trump

Ben & Jerry's ratcheted up its censorship lawsuit against Unilever on Friday, accusing its parent company of suppressing a social policy statement the US ice cream maker wanted to release because it mentioned US 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 and end military aid to Israel, and threatening to dismantle its independent board.

Ben & Jerry's wants a court order freeing the board to continue oversight of its social mission, and requiring Unilever to honoor its commitment to make $25 million (£20m) of payments to groups chosen by the ice cream company.

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

Both companies have been publicly at odds 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.

That led some investors to divest Unilever shares, and Ben & Jerry's to sue its parent for selling its Israeli business to a local licensee.

A settlement in 2022 required Unilever to respect Ben & Jerry's independent board and social mission, as well as make the $25m of payments.

London-based Unilever since then announced plans to spin out its ice cream business, including Ben & Jerry's, to simplify its product portfolio and cut costs. The lawsuit, however, could complicate those plans.

"It doesn’t help it, because anytime you have a cloud over it, it makes it harder to either sell it or spin it out. It affects folks' interpretation of its value," said Charles Elson, a retired University of Delaware law professor and a corporate governance expert.

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 post to be released on Inauguration Day, discussing hot-button issues such as abortion, climate change, minimum wages and universal healthcare.

But on 18 January, two days before Trump's inauguration, Unilever ice cream chief Peter ter Kulve "unilaterally barred Ben & Jerry's from issuing the post because it specifically mentioned 'Donald Trump,'" the complaint said.

Ben & Jerry's said ter Kulve appeared to base his decision on intuition, while ignoring the company's history of challenging the Trump administration.

It also said ter Kulve soon held a town hall meeting where he touted how Unilever board member and activist investor Nelson Peltz, a Trump supporter, had introduced the president to Elon Musk, the Tesla founder and close Trump adviser.

The complaint said that according to ter Kulve, "despite four decades of progressive social activism-and years of challenging the Trump administration’s policies specifically-criticising Trump was now too taboo for the brand synonymous with 'Peace, Love, and Ice Cream.'"

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

Resistance to payments

Ben & Jerry's was founded by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield in a renovated gas station in 1978, and kept its socially conscious mission after Unilever bought it in 2000.

According to the amended complaint, Ben & Jerry's planned to direct $5 million from Unilever to human rights groups, and $20 million over 10 years to support Palestinian almond farmers and a fair-trade almond supplier it had long used.

It said Unilever opposed the $5 million of payments because it believed they would support "Palestinian human rights," and has not made the second $2.5 million installment.

Ben & Jerry's also said ter Kulve resisted the $20 million payment because he disliked the 2022 settlement and had not heard of the almond supplier.

(Reuters)