- Ben & Jerry’s accused its parent company, Unilever, of ousting its CEO, court documents show.
- Ben & Jerry’s suit against Unilever, which is ongoing, accused it in a new filing of silencing activism.
- Attorneys for Ben & Jerry’s said activism is integral to its brand, attracting customers.
Ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s accused its parent company Unilever of ousting its chief executive, according to new court filings.
The removal of CEO David Stever came after disagreements over the ice cream brand’s commitment to social and political activism, which Unilever intended to “silence,” attorneys for Ben & Jerry’s said in a motion filed on Tuesday in the Southern District of New York as part of an ongoing lawsuit between the two.
“Unilever has repeatedly threatened Ben & Jerry’s personnel, including CEO David Stever, should they fail to comply with Unilever’s efforts to silence the Social Mission,” attorneys for Ben & Jerry’s said in the lawsuit. “Unilever’s motive for removing Mr. Stever is his commitment to Ben & Jerry’s Social Mission and Essential Brand Integrity.”
Unilever informed the Ben & Jerry’s Independent Board, which manages its social brand and mission, on March 3 that it would be replacing Stever, the filing said.
Stever served as the company’s chief executive since May 2023 after spending decades working up the ranks of the company, according to multiple reports.
It was not immediately clear if Stever’s removal was fully completed. Ben & Jerry’s attorneys alleged there were breaches in the approved process of a chief executive’s removal and motioned for the courts to prompt Unilever to “comply with the CEO appointment and removal procedure.”
In response to a request for comment from Business Insider, Unilever leveled similar allegations toward Ben & Jerry’s, stating that “decisions on the appointment, compensation and removal of the Ben & Jerry’s CEO will be made by Unilever after good faith consultation and discussion with the B&J’s Independent Board.”
“Regrettably, despite repeated attempts to engage the Board and follow the correct process, we are disappointed that the confidentiality of an employee career conversation has been made public. We hope that the B&J Independent Board will engage as per the original, agreed process,” a Unilever spokesperson said in a statement.
Ben & Jerry’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Unilever acquired Ben & Jerry’s in 2000 for $326 million. But the relationship has recently become tense over political issues. In 2021, for example, the ice cream company tried to stop selling in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
In November, Ben & Jerry’s sued Unilever, accusing it of silencing its political statements on the Gaza war. Tuesday’s filing is part of that lawsuit.
On its social media accounts, Ben & Jerry’s touts a litany of progressive social justice ideals, including voting rights, LGBTQ and BIPOC rights, and immigrant and refugee rights. The activism is “core to Ben & Jerry’s DNA,” and a “key part of its business” in attracting customers, the company’s attorneys said in the lawsuit.
“Consequently, every act of muzzling, suppressing, or publicly undermining the company’s social activism causes real, calculable, and significant financial and reputational harm to Ben & Jerry’s,” the ice cream company’s attorneys said in the lawsuit.
March 19, 2025 — This story has been updated to include a comment from Unilever sent after publication.
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