Ben & Jerry’s accuses Unilever of muzzling it because of Trump #CanadaFinance

By Jessica DiNapoli and Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Ben & Jerry’s ratcheted up its censorship lawsuit against Unilever on Friday, accusing its parent company of suppressing a social policy statement the U.S. ice cream maker wanted to release because it mentioned President Donald Trump.

The allegation came in an amended complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, where Ben & Jerry’s in November accused Unilever of silencing its attempts to express support for Palestinian refugees and end military aid to Israel, and threatening to dismantle its independent board.

Ben & Jerry’s wants a court order freeing the board to continue oversight of its social mission, and requiring Unilever to honor its commitment to make $25 million of payments to groups chosen by the ice cream company.

Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Both companies have been publicly at odds since 2021 when Ben & Jerry’s decided to stop selling Cherry Garcia, Chubby Hubby and other ice cream flavors in the Israeli-occupied West Bank because it was inconsistent with the company’s values.

That led some investors to divest Unilever shares, and Ben & Jerry’s to sue its parent for selling its Israeli business to a local licensee.

A settlement in 2022 required Unilever to respect Ben & Jerry’s independent board and social mission, as well as make the $25 million of payments.

London-based Unilever since then announced plans to spin out its ice cream business, including Ben & Jerry’s, to simplify its product portfolio and cut costs. The lawsuit, however, could complicate those plans.

“It doesn’t help it, because anytime you have a cloud over it, it makes it harder to either sell it or spin it out. It affects folks’ interpretation of its value,” said Charles Elson, a retired University of Delaware law professor and a corporate governance expert.

DONALD TRUMP, NELSON PELTZ AND ELON MUSK

In the amended complaint, Ben & Jerry’s said its management and board, with input from Unilever’s global head of litigation, worked after Trump’s election on a post to be released on Inauguration Day, discussing hot-button issues such as abortion, climate change, minimum wages and universal healthcare.

But on Jan. 18, two days before Trump’s inauguration, Unilever ice cream chief Peter ter Kulve “unilaterally barred Ben & Jerry’s from issuing the post because it specifically mentioned ‘Donald Trump,'” the complaint said.

Ben & Jerry’s said ter Kulve appeared to base his decision on intuition, while ignoring the company’s history of challenging the Trump administration.

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