Ben & Jerry’s Faces Growing Boycott Calls Over July 4 Message

Ben & Jerry's, a brand of Unilever, is seen on display in a store in Manhattan, New York City on March 24, 2022. Andrew Kelly/Reuters

Ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s received significant backlash on social media after it denigrated the United States during the Fourth of July weekend and claimed it only exists “on stolen land,” with some calling for a Bud Light-style boycott.

“This 4th of July, it’s high time we recognize that the US exists on stolen Indigenous land and commit to returning it,” Ben & Jerry’s said on its Twitter account before linking to an article on the topic.

“Ah, the Fourth of July. Who doesn’t love a good parade, some tasty barbecue, and a stirring fireworks display?” the company continued to say. “The only problem with all that, though, is that it can distract from an essential truth about this nation’s birth: The US was founded on stolen Indigenous land.”

The post continued to say: “This year, let’s commit to returning it. Here’s why we need to start with Mount Rushmore.”  It then claimed that the land on which Mount Rushmore sits was seen as sacred to the Native American tribes before alleging that the U.S. government broke its treaties with the Lakota and other tribes in the mid-19th century.

The series of posts drew an immediate and sharp backlash from prominent users.

“Make @benndjerrys Bud Light again,” country singer-songwriter John Rich wrote in response, responding to the monthslong boycott targeting Bud Light that has seen the beer company’s year-over-year sales plummet. While Bud Light didn’t attack the founding of the United States, the company was panned for producing a can of beer with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney’s face on it.

“Long overdue for the Bud Light treatment. You hate the country, fine. We won’t buy your product. All good,” another user wrote in response. “When is Ben & Jerry’s giving up their land?” Jenna Ellis, a former attorney to Donald Trump, wrote on Twitter.

The controversial Twitter posts also drew an opinion article from the New York Post’s editorial board on Wednesday, with the paper calling on the brand to “give back the land your US factories and stores sit on and the millions upon millions you’ve made from exploiting the indigenous.”

“The brand backed bad-joke Occupy Wall Street, for crying out loud; it aligns with the anti-Israel BDS movement. Co-founder Ben Cohen funds groups opposed to US military aid to Ukraine,” the editorial wrote before calling for a boycott of the Unilever-owned ice cream company.

“Remember, America, you don’t have to accept woke preening from corporate elites. Speak up—with your wallets,” it said.

The Washington Examiner, too, released an opinion article that suggested consumers boycott Ben & Jerry’s.

Cans of Bud Light sit in a cooler in Baltimore, Maryland, on June 30, 2023. Rob Carr/Getty Images

“It may be fun to imagine, but, of course, Ben & Jerry’s will never actually give back the land its corporate office sits on. It will simply exert pressure on others to give up their land,” it said, adding that it’s now Americans’ “job to try and turn the tide” against the company.

However, unlike Bud Light and Anheuser-Busch, Ben & Jerry’s has posted nakedly political messages for decades. The company, based in Vermont, has often supported left-wing causes—especially those championed by self-proclaimed socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)

In June, Ben & Jerry’s announced it wouldn’t pay to advertise on Twitter and claimed that “hate speech” is on the rise across the platform since Elon Musk purchased the company last year. In a blog post weeks ago, the company wrote that changes at Twitter are causing it “great concern” and that “hate speech is up dramatically while content moderation has become all but non-existent.”

The firm also faced boycotts from consumers after saying it would not sell ice cream in Israel’s Gaza Strip and the West Bank, which it described as “occupied Palestinian territory.”

The decision was denounced by Israel supporters as well as state governments. Eventually, Ben & Jerry’s filed a lawsuit against Unilever after the firm sold its Israeli division to a local franchisee before the issue was settled in December.

And in March, company co-founder Ben Cohen spoke out about the U.S. government providing military assistance to Ukraine, saying that the United States should instead try to negotiate and end to the war.

“I think the U.S. should use its power to negotiate an end to the war, not prolong the death and destruction by supplying more weapons,” Mr. Cohen told the Daily Beast in March.

Mr. Cohen and Jerry Greenfield co-founded Ben & Jerry’s in 1978 before they sold the firm in 2000. As part of an agreement, the company has maintained its voice on social issues and has long supported Democrat or left-wing causes.

The Epoch Times sought comment from Unilever on Wednesday. Neither Unilever nor Ben & Jerry’s has released public statements about the boycott calls.