Household cosmetics giant Estée Lauder acted decisively against its senior executive John Demsey for posting a meme containing the N-word.
John Demsey responds to racist meme backlash
Demsey, Estee Lauder’s now-former group president, exposed the deep-rooted ignorance that still permeates in the global beauty and cosmetics industry when he posted a meme of a Sesame Street parody book cover with the words: “My n**** Snuffy done got the ‘rona at a Chingy concert.”
Following the backlash, Demsey issued a public apology, vehemently stressing that he simply reposted the meme “without reading it beforehand.”
“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 reading it beforehand. There are not enough words to express my remorse and sorrow,” he wrote.
The disgraced executive added, “this meme is the furthest thing from what I stand for and I should have never reposted it.”
Unfortunately, the apology was a futile exercise. Estée Lauder, following the backlash, confirmed the axing of Demsey and accused the 64-year-old of damaging “our efforts to drive inclusivity both inside and outside our walls, and do not reflect the judgment we expect of our leaders.”
Chingy says Demsey racist meme was ‘an honest mistake’
The main subject of the racist meme, veteran rap artist Chingy, also chimed in on the furore surrounding Demsey.
The Right Thurr rapper posted this video, where he addresses the viral meme, and stresses that Demsey made an honest mistake.
Chingy says he’s not offended by the meme posted about him. Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/Iy96u1QtcV
— TheShadeRoom (@TheShadeRoom) March 1, 2022
Demsey’s last day as Estée Lauder group president will be on Friday 4 March 2022.
“Not only did I hurt many people whom I respect, the terrible mistake that I made has undermined everything I have been working for since I began my career 31 years ago,” Demsey wrote.
Here is his full statement: