In January, the company alleged that Unilever “unilaterally barred” a post referencing abortion, climate change and universal healthcare because it mentioned President Donald Trump.
Ben & Jerry’s says the behavior continued in recent weeks, alleging that Unilever blocked the company from making a post about Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian refugee whose green card was revoked over his involvement with demonstrations last year at Columbia University in New York, and remains in ICE custody.
The post on X would have included a link to the ACLU petitioning for his release, but wasn’t published and Unilever “provided no explanation for the censorship.”
Support for abortion, universal healthcare, climate action, free speech, and due process? These are all good and correct opinions.
Unilever knew when it bought the brand in 2000 that the company has been openly progressive since its 1978 founding. The partners do have an agreement about Ben & Jerry’s brand mission, but the ice cream maker says the conglomerate isn’t upholding its end of the deal. “Ben & Jerry’s has on four occasions attempted to publicly speak out in support of peace and human rights. Despite its contractual commitment to ‘(r)espect and acknowledge’ the Independent Board’s primary responsibility over Ben & Jerry’s Social Mission and Essential Brand Integrity, Unilever has silenced each of these efforts,” reads the November lawsuit.
Ben & Jerry’s said in an amended complaint filed in New York this week that the parties’ merger “protects Ben & Jerry’s interests by precluding the unilateral removal of its CEO,” but that Unilever did in fact boot the chief executive, David Stever, without board approval. They claim Unilever fired Stever due to his “commitment to Ben & Jerry’s Social Mission and Essential Brand Integrity…rather than any genuine concerns regarding his performance history.”
Unilever told CNN in a statement that this was all above board and they’re mad that it’s public. “In line with the terms of the acquisition agreement, decisions on the appointment, compensation and removal of the Ben & Jerry’s CEO will be made by Unilever after good faith consultation and discussion with the B&J’s Independent Board…(W)e are disappointed that the confidentiality of an employee career conversation has been made public.”
I’m not sure if this means I should buy Ben & Jerry’s to support their values or not buy it to punish Unilever, but I will await further instructions.
Trump-related barf:
- Using children as props, Trump signed an executive order to begin dismantling the Department of Education. He cannot actually eliminate it without an act of Congress. [NBC News]
- Ousted Project 2025 director Paul Dans said this week that Trump is effectively implementing the 900-page playbook: “It’s actually way beyond my wildest dreams.” [Politico]
- Trump suggested in a Friday morning Truth Social post that U.S. citizens who attack Tesla dealerships should serve their sentences in El Salvador prisons, where the administration recently sent more than 100 immigrants with zero due process. [CNBC/Bluesky]
- Trump is calling April 2, when a new round of tariffs will take effect, “Liberation Day,” which is true in the sense that the taxes will liberate money from people’s bank accounts. [Washington Post]
- Customs and Border Protection denied a French scientist entry to the U.S. after they searched his phone and found messages critical of Trump. [The Guardian]
- Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on live TV Wednesday that investors should purchase stock in Tesla, the car company led by co-president Elon Musk, an alarming ethics violation if people even care about that anymore. [CNBC/Barron’s]
- Relatedly: while Tesla’s stock price is tanking, regulators recalled virtually every Cybertruck on the road because of a windshield-adjacent panel that can detach while driving. [Associated Press]
- A Fox News poll (!) found that 58% of voters disapprove of the job Musk is doing at his fake agency. [Fox]
- At a town hall this week, Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.) faced “a torrent of heckles and boos” as she tried to downplay voters’ concerns about Trump and Musk. “It’s so bizarre to me how obsessed you are with federal government.” [NBC News]
Non-Trump barf:
- Chuck Schumer Watch: Reps. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) and Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) called for the New York Senator to step aside as Minority Leader and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) was not a no! Four more progressive groups have joined Indivisible in calling for him to step aside. [Axios/NPR/Politico]
- The Democratic Party has a favorability rating of just 29%, the lowest figure ever recorded since CNN started the poll in 1992. It’s a drop of 20 points since January 2021 when Trump left office. The GOP rating is at 36%. [CNN]
- Figures across the MAGA-verse are trying to build support for pardoning Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis cop who murdered George Floyd in 2020. [Axios]
- An Alabama bill, if passed, would allow cops to arrest people who direct abusive language at first responders, make obscene gestures, or linger at a scene after being ordered to leave. [Alabama Reflector]
- California Governor and likely 2028 presidential candidate Gavin Newsom reportedly sent burner phones to tech CEOs so they could easily reach him. Because what this country really needs is closer relationships between politicians and corporations. [Politico]
- One of the four men that Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) accused on the House floor of being a sexual predator is suing her for defamation. [Post & Courier]
This has been your weekly Barf Bag, thanks for reading!
