Ben & Jerry's super-woke CEO is FIRED by fed-up parent company after years of liberal lunacy
Ben & Jerry's infamously woke CEO has been fired by the ice cream company's fed-up parent company Unilever.
David Stever was booted on March 3 after Unilever bosses grew tired of Ben & Jerry's advocating for divisive progressive causes like Black Lives Matters, DEI, defunding the police and Palestinian rights.
Ben & Jerry's remaining bosses have now filed a lawsuit accusing the parent company of firing Stever for his political activism.
They also say Unilever violated an agreement struck when the conglomerate bought Ben & Jerry's that allowed it to continue its 'social mission' and advocate for causes.
The suit says Unilever executives kept the Ben & Jerry's from issuing support for Palestinian Columbia university student Mahmoud Khalil, who was detained after leading the anti-Israel encampments at the school.
It also alleges that Unilever banned Ben & Jerry's for going on a public anti-Trump offensive after he won his second presidential election in November 2024.
Ben & Jerry's had planned to take the Trump administration to task on minimum wage, universal health care, abortion, and climate change,' per the suit.
The parent company also allegedly prevented the ice cream company from issuing posts celebrating Black History Month and against Israel in the conflict of the war in Gaza.
'When the matter was escalated to me, I expressed concerns about the continued perception of antisemitism that is a persistent issue,' said Peter ter Kulve, Unilever's president of ice cream, according to the lawsuit.
Ben & Jerry's board chairwoman Anuradha Mittal said she was 'disturbed' by the 'false equivalency' and asked ter Kulve for data to support 'his opinion.'
Ben & Jerry's claims its CEO was fired by its parent company because of his political activism
Ben and Jerry's has promoted progressive causes and partnered with BLM activists such as former NFL player Colin Kaepernick
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield reportedly want to team up with socially minded investors in any buyback from Unilever
Mittal, who also runs progressive think-tank the Oakland Institute, shared a number of posts denouncing Israel in the immediate aftermath of the October 7 Hamas attacks.
The suit also accuses Unilever of blocking Ben & Jerry's from making donations for Jewish Voice for Peace and the Council of American Islamic Relations.
It comes a month after the ice cream company accused Unilever of demanding it stop publicly denouncing president Donald Trump.
Ben & Jerry's, though an incredibly popular brand worldwide, has created political problems for Unilever in recent years as the brand's independent board tied itself to progressive stances that alienate sects of its consumer base.
Founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenwood created the brand in Vermont in 1978.
The pair were longtime supporters of Democratic Socialist Senator Sanders - who represents their home of Vermont in the Senate - and created multiple flavors to support his campaign after they sold the company in 2000 for $236 million.
Ben and Jerry's has continued to push its woke agenda under CEO Stever, having partnered with the likes of Stephen Colbert, Colin Kaepernick, Megan Rapinoe and 'Squad' Congresswoman Cori Bush
In 2022, Unilever and the brand got into a legal fight after the corporation sold its Ben & Jerry's operation in Israel , a move that came after the independent American board said publicly that it would halt the sales of its products in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Ben & Jerry's went all the way in promoting the Black Lives Matter cause
Several years ago, the brand came to blows with Unilever when it announced it would no longer sell ice cream in Israeli settlements. Unilever responded by selling the brand's Israeli operation to avoid further conflict
Ben & Jerry's has also infamously celebrated July 4th by declaring the country should 'return' its land to the native tribes from whom it was originally stolen.
In addition to Ben & Jerry's, Unilever also owns the ice cream brands Magnum, Wall's, Breyers, Talenti, Popsicle, and Klondike.
All are considerably less controversial, with Unilever planning to create a stand-alone ice cream business in the near future.
In September of 2021, Ben & Jerry's debuted a defund the police flavor in support of a $10 billion bill by Rep. Bush that would replace police officers with social workers and other first responders in incidents of mental health and substance abuse.
In 2023, the company celebrated American independence day by declaring the US was founded on land stolen from native tribes that they would like to see returned
Last month, founders Ben and Jerry reportedly started looking into how to buy back their namesake brand from Unilever.
Many companies have rolled back diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies or appeared to show deference toward Trump since he began his second White House term.
Unilever has been publicly locked in a battle with the business since 2021, when the ice-cream brand halted sales in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Its founders now want to team up with socially minded investors in any buyback, Bloomberg reported.
