Ben & Jerry’s parent firm threatened then ousted the ice cream brand’s chief executive for defending its “social mission,” a Tuesday court filing alleges.

Officials with the consumer packaged goods company Unilever told Ben & Jerry’s independent board that it planned to remove chief executive Dave Stever on March 3 and pressed the board to quickly rubber-stamp the decision, according to the court filing from Ben & Jerry’s and board directors. Board members sought more time and asked to see Unilever minutes and notes related to the decision, but they were refused, the filing said.

“Unilever’s suppression of Ben & Jerry’s social mission has reached startling new levels of oppressiveness,” this week’s filing alleges.

Spokespeople and attorneys for Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s did not immediately respond Wednesday to requests for comment.

The Tuesday filing is part of a lawsuit filed last year that accuses Unilever of trying to censor the ice cream brand’s public stances on various issues.

Vermont-based Ben & Jerry’s has for decades pursued its “social mission” by taking positions on issues such as the Black Lives Matter movement and LGBTQ+ rights, under the oversight of an independent board that was established when Unilever acquired Ben & Jerry’s in 2000.

But the brand’s advocacy since then has led to clashes with Unilever, including over the board’s desire to stop distributing Ben & Jerry’s in parts of East Jerusalem and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The company prevented Ben & Jerry’s from issuing a post commemorating Black History Month, the filing said. It also blocked Ben & Jerry’s from calling for the protection of political speech when a Columbia University graduate student was detained after protesting Israel and the war in Gaza.

Ben & Jerry’s and the board members also accused Unilever of threatening to sue independent directors after they tried in 2023 to issue a statement calling for a Gaza ceasefire.

After the 2024 election, the board and Ben & Jerry’s management tried to release a post identifying social issues they “believed would be challenged during the Trump administration, including minimum wage, universal healthcare, abortion, and climate change,” the filing said.

A Unilever executive barred Ben & Jerry’s from issuing the post because it mentioned Donald Trump, the filing said.

Stever, the chief executive, was chastised in his 2025 performance review for “repeatedly acquiesce[ing] to the demands of the Independent Social Mission Board” and letting Ben & Jerry’s post the group’s statements, the filing said.

The accusations by Ben & Jerry’s and its independent board members come as corporations are retreating from diversity, equity and inclusion goals, and as the Trump administration has begun dismantling federal DEI policies and programs.

Unilever in 2024 said it would spin off its ice cream business, including Ben & Jerry’s.