The woke ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s recently sued parent company Unilever over allegedly censoring its views on the Israel-Hamas conflict. Despite Unilever also being a company known to espouse progressive leftist views, the prominent ice cream brand has accused its owner of censoring pro-Palestinian public statements, having long maintained an anti-Israel stance.
According to the lawsuit, Unilever took action against Ben & Jerry’s after it supported the anti-Israel protests that swept through America’s college campuses last spring. Reports from the Associated Press indicate that Unilever was “threatening to dismantle the company’s independent board, sue board members, intimidate personnel and censor the company ‘from publicly voicing support for peace and refugee rights.’”
The suit further claimed that Unilever had prevented Ben & Jerry’s in four separate attempts to publicly speak out against the conflict in Gaza, seeking to call “for peace and a permanent and immediate ceasefire.” Furthermore, the ice cream maker has sought to support the college students protesting across the U.S. and has called for the end of U.S. military aid to Israel.
“Unilever has repeatedly failed to recognize and respect the Independent Board’s primary responsibility over Ben & Jerry’s Social Mission and Brand Integrity, including threatening Ben & Jerry’s personnel should the company speak regarding issues which Unilever prefers to censor,” the lawsuit continued. “The Independent Board initiates this litigation to protect Ben & Jerry’s three-part mission from Unilever’s unilateral erosion and to safeguard the company from Unilever’s repeated overreaches.”
The American Tribune reported on other liberal causes from Ben & Jerry’s, where the company rolled out a special flavor of ice cream for Vice President Kamala Harris in an effort to support her campaign. “Kamala’s Coconut Jubilee” was part of a collaboration with the leftist organization MoveOn Political Action seeking to mobilize voters ahead of the election.
MoveOn released the tour’s itinerary in a recent press release, “Following a kickoff event featuring Cohen and Greenfield in Philadelphia on September 16, the start of early voting in Pennsylvania, MoveOn’s Scoop the Vote Tour will include stops in more than 20 cities in battleground states, with rallies held in Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Nevada. In addition to free ice cream and other freebies, the tour will feature elected officials, activists, and other special guests. At each stop, MoveOn will help attendees make a plan to vote by November 5 and show voters how they can help get their friends and family to vote.”
Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen said in a statement, “You can lick and say you care all you want, but if you’re not going for the big scoop— to get registered and vote— at the end of the day, all you’ve got is some drips down your shirt. Go big. Scoop the vote.” Co-founder Jerry Greenfield said, “We love ice cream and we love MoveOn—because MoveOn’s members are always working hard for the change we care about. MoveOn members are tireless—so if we can help make the hard work of improving our country a little sweeter, why not?”
The initiative planned to serve a variety of “electorally themed ice cream flavors, such as “Unburdened by What has Vanilla Bean,” “Inauguration Celebration Birthday Cake,” “Fight For Our Rights Sorbet,” and “MoveOn Mobilizer Milk Chocolate.” Cohen and Greenfield are reportedly partnering with MoveOn to raffle off free pints of the “Kamala’s Coconut Jubilee” flavor.
In other news regarding woke businesses, watch commentators explain Bud Light’s attempt to regain customers is “too little, too late”:
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