Ice cream giant Ben & Jerry’s has called on the Biden administration to return “stolen indigenous land” as part of a divisive Fourth of July message.
The company used social media to share its challenge, declaiming: “The United States was founded on stolen indigenous land. This Fourth of July, let’s commit to returning it.”
Writing to its 494,000+ followers on Twitter, Ben & Jerry’s declared the time has come for the U.S. government to act.
The company went on to propose the U.S. should “start with Mount Rushmore,” and detailed the history of the iconic mount and its significance to indigenous Americans, writing, “What is the meaning of Independence Day for those whose land this country stole, those who were murdered and forced with brutal violence onto reservations, those who were pushed from their holy places and denied their freedom.
“The faces on Mount Rushmore are the faces of men who actively worked to destroy Indigenous cultures and ways of life, to deny Indigenous people their basic rights,” the statement concluded.
The message received a torrent of mixed responses, with many calling for boycotts of the brand in a move mirroring the aftermath of Bud Light’s recent disastrous partnership with trans model Dylan Mulvaney and the consumer boycott that followed.
One critic called the ice cream brand “the Bud Light of ice cream,” tweeting, “But seriously now, close shop, or better yet, donate your business and everything you own in these lands that rightfully belong to the indigenous people, apologize to them, and return to the continent your ancestors came from. Now.”
Ben & Jerry’s is yet to respond to its growing army of critics or those who call for a boycott of its ice cream products.
This is not the first time the company has seen fit to enter public debates.
Last year it challenged the UK government over its plan to deport illegal migrants and send them for resettlement in Rwanda.
Then in June this year it declared a halt to all paid advertising on Elon Musk’s Twitter, as Breitbart News reported.
In a statement, the company said, “Musk and Twitter’s toxicity and tacit endorsement of hate and violence goes against everything our company stands for. Twitter must act today to end the extremist and violent content on the platform. Until that happens, Ben & Jerry’s will spend no money with Twitter and we call on all businesses and partners to do the same.”
Ben & Jerry’s will continue to use its Twitter account to interact with its community despite its decision to stop using paid advertising.
