Ben & Jerry’s Board Claims CEO Was Fired for Failing To ‘Oversee the Dismantling’ of Company’s Progressive Politics

Ben & Jerry’s has long held a reputation for blending its chunky ice cream — complete with cheeky or humorous names — with progressive politics. That particular thread has seemingly been targeted for cancelation under the auspices of parent group Unilever over the course of the past few years, culminating mostly recently in the ousting of Ben & Jerry’s CEO David Stever, according to the company’s board.

As The Guardian reported, Stever had been helming Ben & Jerry’s for nearly two years, having started his career with the ice cream maker as a tour guide in 1988. The allegation was part of a filing made in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, which claims that Unilever has violated the terms of the standing merger agreement via repeated attempts to curtail Ben & Jerry’s’ public political positions. That filing has been amended to include this latest complaint, according to CNN.

“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 read, per the BBC.

Anuradha Mittal, the chair of Ben & Jerry’s independent board, also chimed in to criticize the firing of Stever from his position.

“Dave has courageously advanced the company’s social mission and values, has continued to drive innovation in its super premium product range, and has delivered strong financial results, far outpacing the rest of Unilever’s ice-cream business,” Mittal stated.

“What Dave hasn’t done is what Unilever would like him to do, which is to oversee the dismantling of Ben & Jerry’s mission, progressive values,” Mittal added.

Unilever-Ben & Jerry’s Battle Continues Apace, CEO Firing Only the Latest Point of Friction

The tension between Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s has been ongoing for some time now, with CNN outlining several different flashpoints that have taken place in recent memory.

In January of this year, the ice cream maker accused Unilever of unilaterally blocking a post referencing climate change, abortion, and universal healthcare because of a reference to President Donald Trump. Following that, Ben & Jerry’s said that Unilever blocked a planned post regarding Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian refugee whose green card was revoked due to his involvement with demonstrations last year at Columbia University in New York. Khalil remains in ICE custody.

The initial lawsuit, filed in November 2024, alleged that Unilever actively sought to prevent Ben & Jerry’s from showing public support for Palestinian refugees, as well as to publicly call for resolutions ending military aid to Israel. The suit also claims that Unilever made threats to dismantle the ice cream brand’s board and to sue members, at least partially due to the company’s board and management planning to issue a statement calling for “peace” and a “permanent and immediate ceasefire” between Israel and Palestine.