Estee Lauder Fires Senior Executive Over Racist Chingy Sesame Street Meme

The Estee Lauder company holds a diversified array of brands that are sold globally via both digital and retail channels. John Demsey a group president at Estee Lauder made $10 million a year. Recently, John Demsey, a longtime Estee Lauder senior executive was fired from his job when he posted a meme with the N-word and a distasteful joke about COVID on his Instagram account.

Estee Lauder fired a senior brand executive after he used a racial slur in a Sesame Street-themed coronavirus joke on his personal Instagram. John Demsey, who oversaw MAC and Clinique, two of the company’s most well-known brands, was fired from the cosmetics company after 31 years due to public outcry over a mock children’s book cover he posted on Facebook depicting Big Bird at the bedside of Snuffleupagus, who has a thermometer in his mouth.

‘My n***a Snuffy done got the ‘Rona at a Chingy concert,’ states the book’s title, alluding to the St. Louis-born rapper. It’s puzzling why Chingy, a Ludacris protege whose records include “Powerballin” and “Hood star,” would put on a super-wide show.

According to the Wall Street Journal, CEO Fabrizio Freda and Chairman William Lauder first suspended Demsey without pay last week, but after giving it some thought over the weekend, they decided to make it permanent. For this, the firm issued a statement.

“Today, John Demsey, Executive Group President, The Estée Lauder Companies, was informed he must leave the company, effective this week.”

“This decision is the result of his recent Instagram posts, which do not reflect the values of The Estée Lauder Companies, have caused widespread offense, are damaging to our efforts to drive inclusivity both inside and outside our walls, and do not reflect the judgment we expect of our leaders.”

Demsey, who reportedly made $9.6 million from the cosmetics brand last year, apologized last week for his social media gaffe, saying he hadn’t read the meme before posting it.

‘I am terribly sorry and deeply ashamed that I hurt so many people when I made the horrible mistake of carelessly reposting a racist meme without regarding it beforehand,’ he posted on his Instagram account, after taking down the offending post. ‘There are not enough words to express my remorse and sorrow.’ 

The executive’s verified Instagram profile has over 73,000 followers and includes images on Estee Lauder’s MAC Cosmetics and Clinique brands, as well as several memes. John believed to be one of the best credible employees of Estee Lauder, but the company had no other option other than to fire him.

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