- Ben & Jerry’s filed a complaint against its parent company, Unilever, in 2024.
- At the time, Ben & Jerry’s accused Unilever of silencing its views on the war in Gaza.
- Ben & Jerry’s now says Unilever censored a statement about Trump.
President Donald Trump is mentioned alongside billionaires Elon Musk and Nelson Peltz in Ben & Jerry’s lawsuit against its parent company, Unilever.
Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc. first took legal action against Unilever and its subsidiary, Conopco, filing a complaint in the US Southern District of New York in November.
In the initial complaint, Ben & Jerry’s said Unilever blocked it from making statements supporting Palestinians, which the company said breached a settlement agreement and prevented it from pursuing its social mission.
“Specifically, 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 regarding issues which Unilever prefers to censor,” the complaint said.
Ben & Jerry’s said Unilever breached the settlement agreement “by threatening to dismantle the Independent Board, sue Board members, and intimidate Ben & Jerry’s personnel.”
The Vermont-based ice cream company has made political, social justice, and environmental activism part of its public identity. Most recently, Ben & Jerry’s official TikTok account promoted the People’s March in Washington, DC.
On Friday, Ben & Jerry’s amended the complaint to include references to Trump, Musk, and Peltz.
Ben & Jerry’s says Unilever censored a statement it made about Trump
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In the amended complaint, Ben & Jerry’s said it intended to publish a post on Inauguration Day “that identified several social issues Ben & Jerry’s believed would be challenged during the Trump administration, including minimum wage, universal healthcare, abortion, and climate change.”
However, Ben & Jerry’s said Peter ter Kulve — the business group president of Unilever’s ice cream division — prevented the post from going live.
“Despite weeks of working on the statement, including feedback from Unilever’s Global Head of Litigation, on January 18, 2024, Peter ter Kulve unilaterally barred Ben & Jerry’s from issuing the post because it specifically mentioned ‘Donald Trump,'” the company said in the complaint.
Ben & Jerry’s said the decision “ignored” the company’s “consistent history of challenging the Trump administration.”
Unilever’s decision ‘coincides’ with Peltz’s support for Trump, the complaint says
The complaint then mentions Musk and Peltz.
Musk has aligned himself with the Trump administration and leads the Department of Government Efficiency. Peltz is a wealthy investor and cofounder of Trian Fund Management who joined Unilever’s board as a non-executive director in 2022.
In its complaint, Ben & Jerry’s said that Unilever’s decision to block its post about Trump was related to Peltz’s position on the board.
“Unilever’s springing objection to mentioning ‘Trump’ coincides with its prominent board member, Nelson Peltz, publicly supporting Mr. Trump,” Ben & Jerry’s said. “Unsurprisingly, within twenty-four hours of Mr. ter Kulve blocking the Inauguration Post based off a hunch rather than evidence, he hosted an Ice Cream Townhall, where he publicly touted that Mr. Peltz had been the one to introduce Elon Musk to Donald Trump.”
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Ben & Jerry’s said Unilever had shown a “pattern and practice” of “usurping” its board’s authority while hindering the company’s social mission and brand integrity.
“According to Mr. ter Kulve, despite four decades of progressive social activism — and years of challenging the Trump administration’s policies specifically — criticizing Trump was now too taboo for the brand synonymous with ‘Peace, Love, and Ice Cream,'” the company’s complaint said.
Ben & Jerry’s attorney told Business Insider in a statement that the company is trying to protect its values.
“The heart of this dispute is an American institution protecting the precise values that have made it so beloved over the past four decades: social justice, equality, and free speech,” the statement said. “It is a shame that Unilever today has such a difficult time understanding these principles and the unique DNA of our company.”
Representatives for Unilever, Trump, Musk, and Peltz did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
