Ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s says its parent company Unilever improperly removed the ice cream company’s CEO earlier this month in an alleged long-running campaign of censorship over the brand’s support of political causes.
In a new court filing Tuesday with the Southern District of New York, the board of Ben & Jerry’s claims the ousting of CEO David Stever, a three-decade veteran of the company, occurred without “good faith” consultation with the independent board that oversees Ben & Jerry’s “social mission and brand integrity,” violating the companies’ previous agreements that were made after they merged in 2000. The complaint also alleges that the ouster followed a pattern of censorship from Unilever against Ben & Jerry’s, which has built a reputation for taking political stances.
Dave Stever is shown in this undated file photo.
“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,” the filing reads in part. “This month, [Unilever’s President of Ice Cream Peter ter Kelve] and Unilever followed through with their threats. On March 3, 2025, Unilever informed the Independent Board that they were removing and replacing Mr. Stever as Ben & Jerry’s CEO.”
The lawsuit said the board believes Unilever’s motive for removing Stever was his “commitment to Ben & Jerry’s Social Mission and Essential Brand Integrity and his willingness to collaborate in good faith with the Independent Board, rather than any genuine concerns regarding his performance history.”
The lawsuit noted that under Stever’s tenure, Ben & Jerry’s outperformed Unilever’s ice cream portfolio and was ranked #2 on the Brand 500 Authenticity Index in both 2023 and 2024.
In a statement provided to ABC News, a representative in the Unilever press office said the parent company attempted to engage with the independent board about the status of the Ben & Jerry’s CEO. “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,” the Unilever statement said. “We hope that the B&J Independent Board will engage as per the original, agreed process.”
Ben & Jerry’s ice cream shop is shown on Feb. 26, 2025, in Cambridge, Mass.
In its filing, the Ben & Jerry’s board shared examples of alleged censorship taken by Unilever, including blocking the company from issuing a statement supporting a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in December 2023 or issuing a social media post on Inauguration Day that mentioned “Donald Trump.”
More recently, the board’s suit claims the parent company blocked the brand from sharing a supportive post for Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist who was arrested and detained on March 8 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement following student protests at Columbia University opposing the war in Gaza.
Ben & Jerry’s, which is known for producing a wide variety of ice cream flavors, has also built a reputation for taking a stance on social and political issues – from the Black Lives Matter movement to migrant rights and LGBTQ+ rights.
In this Oct. 5, 2020, file photo, the creams of Ben & Jerry’s, a Unilever brand, are seen at their shop in London.
Hannah McKay/Reuters, FILE
“We believe that ice cream can change the world. We have a progressive, nonpartisan social mission that seeks to meet human needs and eliminate injustices in our local, national, and international communities by integrating these concerns in our day-to-day business activities,” the ice cream maker proclaims on its website.
In a statement to ABC News, Shahmeer Halepota, an attorney for Ben & Jerry’s board said, “Ben & Jerry’s is an American institution that has spent four decades unabashedly supporting social justice. We will not sit idly by as Unilever attempts to tarnish that legacy through its censorship, threats, and reprisals.”
Ben & Jerry’s was founded in Vermont in 1978 by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield. Unilever acquired the ice cream maker 25 years ago but the London-based consumer goods company and shareholders agreed the ice cream producer would be able to continue with its social missions and uphold “brand integrity.”
According to Ben & Jerry’s website, Stever, the ousted CEO, started working at Ben & Jerry’s in 1988 as a tour guide and rose up the ranks to become its chief marketing officer for 12 years before he was internally promoted to the top job in May 2023.
