Jerry Greenfield, one of the two co-founders of the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream brand, announced on Tuesday that he left the business after relations with their parent company had frozen over.
Ben Cohen, the other half of the longtime frozen confection duo, who sold their company to Unilever in 2000, shared a statement on X for his now-former business partner.
“It’s with a broken heart that I’ve decided I can no longer, in good conscience, and after 47 years, remain an employee of Ben & Jerry’s,” Greenfield said in the meltdown.
The exiting partner said that for over two decades under Unilever control, “Ben & Jerry’s stood up and spoke out in support of peace, justice, and human rights, not as abstract concepts, but in relation to real events happening in our world.”
That was even a core condition of the merger agreement back in 2000.
But Greenfield no longer believes he can speak out with respect to woke social causes under Unilever.
After 47 years, Jerry has made the difficult decision to step down from the company we built together. I’m sharing his words as he resigns from Ben & Jerry’s. His legacy deserves to be true to our values, not silenced by @MagnumGlobal #FreeBenAndJerrys pic.twitter.com/EZXGRjs76a
— Ben Cohen (@YoBenCohen) September 17, 2025
“It’s profoundly disappointing to come to the conclusion that that independence, the very basis of our sale to Unilever, is gone,” he added.
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Greenfield claimed that his purportedly chilled speech is “happening at a time when our country’s current administration is attacking civil rights, voting rights, the rights of immigrants, women, and the LGBTQ community.”
Those comments were thinly veiled complaints about the leadership of President Donald Trump.
Cohen told CNN on Wednesday that Greenfield “felt like he had no choice to resign.”
“Jerry’s kind of sad that it’s come to this, but part of him is feeling a sense of relief that he’s no longer in this intense conflict,” Cohen revealed.
Unilever has disagreed with employees’ social media posts about cultural issues, such as the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
“I’m glad that we’re both standing up for the values of Ben and Jerry’s,” Cohen added.
“I think that I can be most helpful from the inside, … and Jerry’s going try to be helpful from the outside.”
Unilever is currently spinning off Ben & Jerry’s into a new firm known as The Magnum Ice Cream Company.
The new firm told CNN that it disagrees with Greenfield and Cohen, but said it has sought to work with the two entrepreneurs.
“We remain committed to Ben & Jerry’s unique three-part mission — product, economic and social — and remain focused on carrying forward the legacy of peace, love, and ice cream of this iconic, much-loved brand,” a representative for Magnum said.
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