Ben & Jerry’s is accusing its parent company, Unilever, of firing its chief executive earlier this month over his support for Ben & Jerry’s political activism, in the latest development in an ongoing legal dispute between the companies.
The allegation was made in an amended filing Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Ben & Jerry’s initially filed a lawsuit in November accusing Unilever of silencing its public statements in support of Palestinian refugees amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
According to the amended complaint, Ben & Jerry’s CEO David Stever was fired on March 3 after the parent company repeatedly threatened personnel “should they fail to comply with Unilever’s efforts to silence the Social Mission.”
The suit also alleges that this was made clear in Stever’s most recent review.
Stever was chastised by Unilever for repeatedly acquiescing to the board “by allowing Ben & Jerry’s to post statements the Independent Board had collaboratively worked on with Ben & Jerry’s management,” the suit says.
Replacing Stever for working with the board to promote its social causes “is antithetical to its contractual obligations,” the suit says.
NBC News reached out to Unilever, Ben & Jerry’s, and Stever for comment on Wednesday. According to a letter filed to the court, Unilever is expected to file a motion to dismiss.
Ben & Jerry’s previously filed suit against its parent company after Unilever said it sold the company’s business in Israel to a local licensee. This was a blow to the ice cream brand, which announced a boycott of sales in the region in protest of Israel’s illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The suit says that as part of the 2022 settlement agreement, Unilever agreed to give Ben & Jerry’s independent board “primary responsibility” over its “Social Mission and Essential Brand Integrity.”
This agreement was allegedly violated when Unilever objected on several occasions when Ben & Jerry’s wanted to put out public statements.
One instance marked out in the lawsuit is in May 2024, when Unilever stopped the Ben & Jerry’s European social team from publishing a statement advocating for Palestinians affected by the war to have safe passage out of the war zone.
The lawsuit says Peter ter Kulve, Unilever’s president of ice cream, wrote Ben & Jerry’s board chairwoman Anuradha Mittal on July 1, 2024, to express concerns that the message’s timing coincided with an Iranian missile attack on Israel.
“When the matter was escalated to me, I expressed concerns about the continued perception of antisemitism that is a persistent issue,” ter Kulve’s message said, according to the suit.
The suit says Mittal was disturbed by the “false equivalency” and asked Kulve whether he had any data to support his opinion, “such as a market study or third-party evaluation. ”
“To this day, Mr. ter Kelve has never provided any such evidence,” the suit says.
Unilever also allegedly blocked donations to Jewish Voice for Peace and a chapter of the Council of American Islamic Relations, the suit says.
After repeated requests for objections to be made in writing, Unilever allegedly sent a “chart of grievances” and included that it seeks to remain “neutral” on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the suit says.
The lawsuit accuses Unilever of failing to abide by its own alleged neutrality on the issue by donating to an Israeli organization and supporting other causes. The complaint pointed to Unilever’s support of Ukrainians following Russia’s invasion of the country and Unilever board member Nelson Peltz’s public support of Donald Trump.
Ben & Jerry’s alleged that Unilever’s interference not only violates the 2022 settlement, but has also damaged its brand after decades of social and political activism.
“Ben and Jerry’s customers expect the Company to publicly comment on pressing social issues and expect its highest-ranking officials—including the CEO and the independent Board—to be supportive of these causes,” the suit says.
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