Ben & Jerry's exit: Jerry Greenfield felt 'torn apart' and 'muzzled' before resigning, his co-founder says

Jerry Greenfield, a co-founder of the beloved Ben & Jerry's ice cream company, resigned because he was emotionally "torn apart" and felt "muzzled" by parent company Unilever, his co-founder, Ben Cohen, said.

Jerry Greenfield, a co-founder of the beloved Ben & Jerry's ice cream company, resigned because he was emotionally "torn apart" and felt "muzzled" by parent company Unilever, his co-founder, Ben Cohen, said.

Cohen shared Greenfield's resignation announcement Tuesday on X.

In an open letter, Greenfield said that after 47 years, he was leaving the company with a “broken heart” and that parent company Unilever had "silenced" Ben & Jerry's from openly campaigning for social causes it believes in.

“Jerry has a really big heart. This conflict with Unilever has been tearing him apart for quite some time now. I think this is the right move for Jerry,” Cohen, who co-founded the ice cream company with Greenfield in 1978, told NBC's Hallie Jackson on Wednesday.

“Jerry felt like the values are getting muzzled by Unilever and now Magnum, and he couldn’t stand it. So he’s decided to resign,” Cohen said.