Posted on 03/19/2025 1:12:36 PM PDT by Red Badger
When culture warriors become literal corporate sell-outs, they shouldn’t be surprised when the laws of economics come and bite them in the ass.
There’s a reason ‘go woke go broke’ has become axiomatic. Even institutions as big as Disney and Bud Light have learned they are not too big to feel the sting of a spurned public returning the favor.
As for politics, there aren’t many corporate political attention whores louder than Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.
Ben & Jerry’s sold their company to Unilever in 2000, with the expectation that they could continue their political grandstanding. It looks like, 25 years later, reality has finally caught up with them.
In a legal complaint filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Tuesday night, Ben & Jerry’s alleged that Unilever dismissed chief executive David Stever after he failed to comply with the parent company’s efforts to prevent it from speaking out on political issues.
“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.
“On March 3, 2025, Unilever informed the Independent Board that they were removing and replacing Mr. Stever as Ben & Jerry’s CEO.” — Financial Times
A related case, from 2024, detailed the fights over Ben & Jerry’s fighting for the right to push their pro-Palestine, Anti-Israel positions, including donating money to groups like CAIR, who was once named an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest terrorism financing case in US history.
The old CEO has now been fired, and the case cited above involves claims that Unilever is attempting to disband the activist group steering B&J’s activism. The subsidiary is taking the case to court. Again.
It said Unilever chastised Stever in a January performance review for “repeatedly acquiescing” to Ben & Jerry’s promotion of social goals, and has repeatedly warned personnel not to defy its efforts to “silence the social mission.” Ben & Jerry’s also said Unilever’s attacks on its social mission have reached “new levels of oppressiveness.” It said Unilever blocked it in February from honoring Black History Month, and more recently from supporting the release from detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a U.S. legal permanent resident active in pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University and who the Trump administration wants to deport. —Reuters
He gives a big thumbs-up to using financial pressure to force countries to bend to his will, and it doesn’t occur to this clown that his own obnoxious petulance can trigger the same response against the brand he claims to represent? Or that 25 years of this increasingly radical activism could poison all value of the brand to the company that bought it in the first place, turning it into a potential net-negative for the company’s bottom line?
The are literally aligning themselves with groups and individuals affiliated with designated foreign terror groups.
It hardly a zero-risk association for the parent brand. Especially seeing how little patience the public had with Bud Light.
Conservatives and independents probably don’t buy much Ben and Jerry’s anymore. But there are a whole host of OTHER products and brands that could hang in the balance if a backlash was triggered.
And that outcome is not beyond the realm of possibility. Not at all.
I always preferred Blue Bell ice cream or Haagen Das to Ben and Jerry’s.
It’s “social mission” ought to be nothing more than encouraging employees to volunteer at various local charities or tutoring kids.
I’m a Publix store brand kinda guy..............
Lactaid brand ice cream is delicious and won’t give you gas!
That’s a shame.
Mmmm…Blue Bell.
It’s a British company.
Good... take a hike fluffer.
They sold the company , Unilever can do as they please. The real reason is that sales and profits are probably down. Poor Ben and Jerry are still fighting the old fight from the 1960’s and have never grown up.
I love Ben and Jerry’s Phish Food. Not buying their ice cream is one of my most painful boycotts.
I hate Ben and Jerry’s politics. I no longer buy their products.
That being said, I REALLY, REALLY miss Chunky Monkey ice cream. Nothing else like it out there.
I’ve never had any of B&J’s ice cream and probably never will.
Blue Bell is tops, been awhile since I’ve had Haagen Das.
B&J has great ice cream, but haven’t bought any in 30 years.
Won’t either.
Not being an ice cream “snob”, I don’t pay any attention to the brand...If I want ice cream, I get ice cream...
Just curious: When is White History Month?
The queer vibe is very strong with that guy.
I stopped buying Ben&Jerry’s products when I saw the big webpage on their site advocating for abortion. They were wailing and moaning about the repeal of Roe v Wade. How could they turn such a family friendly, wholesome product into something manufactured by a company that was in favor of the killing of their future customers?
I don’t even want to look at their ice-cream containers as I pass by in the supermarket aisle. The thought of it makes me sick. It’s like poison now.
This... and this...
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