Ben Cohen, co-founder of the popular ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s, has publicly urged Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor Khan to end her decade-long association with Unilever and its Magnum brand, citing the corporation’s suppression of the brand’s pro-Palestine stance.
Posting on X, Cohen pointed out that Kareena, who has represented Unilever and Magnum for more than ten years, had previously used her public platform to condemn violence against Palestinian children. He argued that this made her the right person to push back against Unilever’s conduct.
“Kareena Kapoor Khan has represented Unilever/Magnum for more than a decade. She has also used her platform to condemn the violence committed against Palestinian children. But Unilever/Magnum, the company that hired Kareena to promote its products, actively silences criticism of the Israeli government, including Ben & Jerry’s after it spoke out about Gaza,” Cohen wrote.
He called on supporters to flood Kareena’s social media comments with the hashtags BoycottMagnum and FreeBenandJerrys, urging her to “stand behind the values she has championed.” Kareena has not yet responded publicly.
The dispute between Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever stretches back several years. Unilever acquired the brand in 2000 under an agreement that included legally enforceable provisions giving an independent board exclusive authority over the brand’s social mission. That relationship began to deteriorate in 2021 when Ben & Jerry’s announced it would stop selling products in Israeli-occupied West Bank territories. Unilever objected, and several US state governments moved to restrict Unilever from state contracts over what they described as boycott activity against Israel.
Ben Cohen and co-founder Jerry Greenfield later sued Unilever, alleging the company sold the Israeli portion of the business to a local vendor without their consent. Though the matter was settled, Cohen claimed Unilever then began censoring the brand’s public messaging. In 2024, Unilever transferred its ice cream division to The Magnum Ice Cream Company, deepening the conflict over political stance and board control. The co-founders attempted to buy back the brand but did not succeed.
Kareena’s link to the Palestine issue dates to 2024, when she shared a post on her Instagram Story from UNICEF’s official account. The post featured UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell condemning the killing of children and families in Rafah, describing the act as “unconscionable.”
