Ben & Jerry’s has filed yet another lawsuit against its parent company, Unilever, accusing it of blocking the ice cream brand’s attempts to publicly support Palestinians in Gaza. The lawsuit, filed in the United States, claims Unilever threatened to dismantle Ben & Jerry’s board and take legal action against its members if they continued pushing their controversial political views, according to Reuters.

This legal move is the latest in a string of confrontations between Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever, reflecting an ongoing internal struggle fueled by Ben & Jerry’s insistence on prioritizing activism over business stability. The tensions began in 2021 when Ben & Jerry’s unilaterally decided to stop selling its products in Israeli communities in Yehuda and Shomron, a move that alienated some investors and triggered divestments from Unilever. The decision was widely criticized for injecting the brand into a highly charged international issue at the expense of shareholder value.

Unilever, which acquired Ben & Jerry’s in 2000, has repeatedly found itself at odds with the brand’s increasingly polarizing agenda. Last year, Ben & Jerry’s even took Unilever to court over its decision to sell the brand’s business in Israel to a local licensee, enabling sales in Israel and the contested territories despite the brand’s objection. That lawsuit was eventually settled, with Unilever agreeing to recognize Ben & Jerry’s board’s independence concerning social mission decisions.

But in this latest legal complaint, Ben & Jerry’s argues that Unilever is violating that settlement by allegedly preventing it from making pro-Palestinian statements. According to the lawsuit, Ben & Jerry’s tried on four occasions to publicly advocate for “peace and human rights,” but Unilever reportedly blocked these efforts.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)