Authors Jessica Dynapoli and Jonathan Stempel
New York (Reuters) – Ben & Jerry’s has filed a lawsuit against censorship Unilever (Lon 🙂 On Friday, accusing his home company for covering up a statement of a social policy that the American ice cream manufacturer wanted to publish because she mentioned President Donald Trump.
The accusation came in a modified lawsuit filed with the Manhattan Federal Court, where Ben & Jerry’s accused Unilever in November of silencing an attempt to support Palestinian refugees and interrupt military assistance to Israel, and threatens to dissolve his independent committee.
Ben & Jerry’s wants a court order that the administration releases to continue to monitor its social mission and is asked from Unilever to respect its obligation to make payments of $ 25 million to groups selected by ice cream production firm.
Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s did not immediately respond to the comment demands.
Both companies have been in public conflict since 2021. When Ben & Jerry’s decided to stop selling Cherry Garcia, Chubby Hubby and other flavors of ice cream on the western coast under the Israeli occupation because it was not in line with the values of the company.
This led that some investors sold Unilever shares, and Ben & Jerry’s to sue her home company because she sold her Israeli company to a local licensee owner.
The settlement of 2022 demanded from Unilever to respect the independent committee and the social mission of Ben & Jerry, as well as to make payments of $ 25 million.
The Unilever, based in London, has since announced plans to extract his ice cream business, including Ben & Jerry’s, to simplify his product portfolio and reduce costs. The lawsuit, however, could complicate those plans.
“This does not help him, because whenever you have a cloud over it, it makes it difficult or selling it or launching it. It affects the interpretation of people’s values,” said Charles Elson, a retired lawyer of Delaware. Professor and expert in corporate control.
Donald Trump, Nelson Peltz and Elon Musk
In the amended Ben & Jerry’s complaint, he states that his board and the Board of Directors, with the help of Unilever’s Global Council, worked after Trump’s election at a position that will be released on the day of inauguration, discussing burning questions such as abortion, climate change, minimum wages and universal health care.
But on January 18, two days before Trump’s inauguration, the Unilever Unilever chief Peter Ter Kulve “unilaterally banned Ben & Jerry’s to publish the announcement because it explicitly mentions ‘Donald Trump’,” the complaint said.
Ben & Jerry’s said that it seems that TE Kulve based his decision on intuition, while ignoring the history of the company in the challenge of Trump’s administration.
It was also said that Ter Kulve soon held a meeting at the City Hall, saying that a member of the Unilever Management Board and activist investor Nelson Peltz, Trump’s supporters, met the president with Elon Musk, founder of Tesla (Nasdaq 🙂 and the closely Trump advisor.
The complaint stated that, according to Ter Kulve, “despite the four decades of progressive social activism – and the years of challenging the special policy of Trump’s administration – criticizing Trump is now too taboo for a brand that is synonymous with ‘peace, love and ice cream. ”
Many companies in retail, banking and other sectors have limited support for programs this month whose perceived social effect has caused the opposition of Trump and its supporters.
Payment resistance
Ben & Jerry’s founded Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield in a renovated gas station in 1978, and kept their socially aware mission after Unilever bought it in 2000.
According to the changed lawsuit, Ben & Jerry’s planned to direct $ 5 million from Unilever Human Rights Groups and $ 20 million over 10 years to support Palestinian almond breeders and a righteous almond suppliers he used for a long time.
It was said that Unilever was opposed to a $ 5 million payment because he believed he would support “Palestinian human rights” and did not commit a second installment of $ 2.5 million.
Ben & Jerry’s also said that TR Kulve resisted a $ 20 million worth of dollars because he did not like a settlement from 2022 and did not hear about the almond supplier.
Unilever’s dozen other products include soap dove, Hellmann’s mayonnaise, knorr of broth cubes, surf detergent and petroleum jelly.
