🍦 Ben & Jerry’s Get Canceled For Being Too Woke

In today’s newsletter I discuss Ben & Jerry’s getting  canceled for being too woke, we might actually have a buyer for TikTok finally, sadly Robert Redford has passed away at the age of 89, YouTube paid content creators over $100 billion dollars in the last 4-years, Tether launched a new U.S.-regulated stablecoin called USA₮, Polymarket is raising a new funding round that would value the company at up to $9 billion dollars, and LimeWire acquired the Fyre Festival brand for $245,300 dollars.

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🍦 Ben & Jerry’s Get Canceled For Being Too Woke

In an example of an American company with strong corporate values, who’s known for their progressive activism, Ben & Jerry's co-founder Jerry Greenfield has quit the ice cream brand he started with his best friend Ben Cohen 47 years ago in 1978. His departure, which he called “one of the hardest and most painful decisions” of his life, is a direct result of the escalating tensions and disputes with the brand's parent company Unilever. When push came to shove, Jerry Greenfield decided to hand in his notice and leave his company.

For years, the founders of Ben & Jerry's have been at odds with Unilever, accusing the British conglomerate of stifling the brand's social mission and silencing its long-standing advocacy for human rights and social justice. This conflict has fundamentally broken the unique merger agreement struck in 2000, when Unilever acquired Ben & Jerry's for $326 million dollars.

When Unilever acquired Ben & Jerry's in 2000 for $326 million dollars, the two companies agreed to a unique merger arrangement. This agreement was designed to allow Ben & Jerry's to maintain its independence and continue its mission-driven work.

Which is one of the reasons Ben & Jerry's has become so popular; that and because their ice cream tastes amazing!

The core of the acquisition agreement established an independent board for Ben & Jerry's. This board was given the primary responsibility of protecting the company's core values, brand integrity, and social mission. While Unilever retained final say on financial and operational decisions, the independent board was empowered to pursue the brand's social and environmental goals. This structure was intended to be a safeguard, ensuring that the progressive spirit of Ben & Jerry's would not be lost under the ownership of a large multinational corporation. This agreement was meant to enshrine Ben & Jerry's independence and allow it to continue its mission-driven work. According to Jerry Greenfield that core independence is now gone.

The conflict reached a boiling point in 2021 when Ben & Jerry's ended its sales in the occupied Palestinian territories as a result of the military action Israel was undertaking, which the company said was inconsistent with its values. This move triggered a swift and powerful backlash from Israel, and kicked off a legal battle with parent company Unilever over the brand's independence. Ben & Jerry's later filed a lawsuit in federal court in New York, accusing Unilever of censoring its public statements to support Palestinian refugees and resolutions to end military aid to Israel. The lawsuit alleged that Unilever threatened to "dismantle" the brand's independent board and sue its members if they spoke out on these issues.

This was not the first time Unilever had allegedly interfered with the brand's messaging. In a 2024 lawsuit Ben & Jerry's claimed Unilever prevented a social media post that referenced abortion, climate change, and universal healthcare simply because it mentioned President Donald Trump’s name.

So much for freedom of speech.

The turmoil has also impacted the leadership of the company itself. In March of 2025, Ben & Jerry's accused Unilever of breaching its merger agreement by ousting its then-CEO David Stever. The brand alleged that David Stever was removed from his post without consulting the independent board because of his commitment to the brand's progressive social activism. The lawsuit claimed that a performance review of David Stever in January of 2025 had criticized him for "repeatedly acquiescing" to the promotion of social goals. The filing also stated that Unilever had "repeatedly threatened" company personnel, including David Stever, if they failed to comply with efforts to silence the social mission. This action, according to Ben & Jerry's, was a direct attack on its core values and brand integrity.

It’s gotten to the point where the management of a company can’t say anything that might offend anyone anywhere! How did we get here people?!?!

For Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, this corporate battle has taken a personal toll. They have seen the mission they built over decades eroded under corporate control. Ben Cohen has previously stated that the brand attempted to engineer a sale to investors for a fair market value between $1.5 billion dollars and $2.5 billion dollars, but that Unilever rejected the proposal and insisted the company was not for sale. Jerry Greenfield’s resignation after 47 years is the most significant escalation of this ongoing dispute. It serves as a powerful symbol of the clash between a company founded on social activism and the realities of corporate ownership. Both co-founders have remained outspoken, with Ben Cohen posting Jerry Greenfield's resignation letter on social media, emphasizing that his legacy deserves to be true to their values, not silenced.

One has to wonder what will happen to sales of Ben & Jerry's if the brand strays from their progressive social activism, which is a large part of why their customers pay a premium for their ice cream.

The struggle between Unilever and Ben & Jerry's is a great example of the effect of corporate governance, political influence, and the future of brand activism in an increasingly divided world. It raises good questions about how much control a parent company can, or should, have over a subsidiary's public voice and core identity.

For Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, what started as an ice cream company in a renovated gas station has become a powerful, public battle to protect their legacy and ensure the values they built the brand on are not completely lost to the pressures of a corporate bottom line. As Unilever prepares to spin off its ice cream business, called Magnum The Ice Cream Company (TMICC), the dispute and Jerry Greenfield's departure signal an even more rocky road ahead for the brand.

🕺 Business

The United States and China have reached a framework agreement to transfer TikTok’s American assets to U.S. ownership, with Oracle retaining its cloud agreement. The deal, which aims to avoid a ban of the app for its 170 million U.S. users, reportedly could be valued at over $100 billion dollars. Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump are set to finalize the details on a Friday call, proving that even a massive global deal can come down to a last minute Zoom call.

🪦 Entertainment

The acclaimed actor, director, and environmentalist Charles Robert Redford Jr., died on September 16, 2025, at his home in Utah at the age of 89. The multi talented Robert Redford Jr., appeared in over 50 Hollywood films during his prolific acting career, and directed 10 films. He also founded the Sundance Institute in 1981, which holds the Sundance film festival each winter in Utah. Upon his death Robert Redford was worth an estimated $200 million dollars.He will be missed greatly by his wife, Sibylle Szaggars, and his daughters, Shauna Redford and Amy Redford.

📺 Streaming

YouTube has announced that its paid creators, artists, and media companies over $100 billion dollars over the past four years.The number of YouTube channels making over $100,000 dollars from TV screens has jumped 45% year-over-year. The platform is also seeing significant growth in YouTube Shopping, with Gross Merchandise Volume growing 5X year-over-year. Now if only I could monetize my new The Business Behind The News YouTube channel!

🪙 Crypto

Tether recently unveiled its new U.S.-regulated stablecoin called USA₮, and named former White House official Bo Hines to lead the new division as its CEO. Tether's existing USD₮ stablecoin has a market capitalization exceeding $169 billion dollars and the company made over $13 billion dollars in 2024. Unlike Tether's existing USD₮, which is for global use, USA₮ is specifically designed to be compliant with the recently passed U.S. stablecoin law, the GENIUS Act. Smart move.

🎲 Prediction Markets

Polymarket is raising a new funding round that would value the company at up to $9 billion dollars, which is a tenfold increase from its June 2025 valuation of only $1 billion dollars. Competitor Kalshi is also closing a new funding round that would value it at $5 billion dollars, up from the $2 billion dollars valuation from June 2025. My bet is this isn’t the last time both companies will raise funding in 2025.

🎶 Music

LimeWire, which has relaunched as a crypto and NFT platform, acquired the Fyre Festival brand in a competitive bidding process in July for $245,300 dollars. The original LimeWire was a peer to peer file sharing service that was shut down in 2010 for copyright infringement. Also bidding on LimeWire was Ryan Reynolds' creative agency Maximum Effort, which lost out on the deal. Afterward Ryan Reynolds said "Congrats to LimeWire for their winning bid for Fyre Fest. I look forward to attending their first event but will be bringing my own palette of water."

I’m lovin’ the cheeky response from Ryan Reynolds, and LimeWire’s publicity stunt. Both of these are great examples of world class branding and viral marketing - because you’re reading about it right now, and it’s got people talking.

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irl Media NEWSLETTER is written, edited, and published by Chris Thompson.