Estee Lauder Suspends an Executive Over This Instagram Post

Beauty giant Estee Lauder has suspended executive group president John Demsey over an Instagram post that included a racial slur.

According to an internal memo viewed by the Wall Street Journal, the executive has been suspended without pay. Demsey has been with the New York-based cosmetic company for 30 years.

The Journal reported Demsey’s post made jokes related to Covid-19.

The social media post, which has since been removed from Demsey’s personal account, displayed a spoof book cover of the TV show “Sesame Street,” and contained the N-word and jokes about Covid-19, said the Journal.

“The content posted does not represent the values of The Estée Lauder Companies,” the company said in an internal memo obtained by the Journal.

Demsey, who had oversaw brands like Mac and Clinique, has been suspended for an undisclosed amount of time. He joined Estee Lauder in 1991 and has held several positions before the cosmetics maker named him executive group president in 2015.

His Instagram profile has over 73,000 followers and includes images on Estee Lauder’s MAC Cosmetics and Clinique brands, as well as several memes.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.