Estee Lauder terminates John Demsey over Instagram post

Estee Lauder Cos. said it has terminated veteran executive John Demsey, days after placing him on leave over a social media post that included a racial slur and a reference to the coronavirus. Demsey, who is executive group president and oversees brands such as Clinique and Mac, will leave the company effective this week, Estee Lauder shared in a statement Monday. “This decision is the result of his recent Instagram posts, which do not reflect the values of the Estee 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,” Executive Chairman William P. Lauder and CEO Fabrizio Freda said in the statement, which the company sent to employees and published on its website. Subscribe to Ad Age now for award-winning news and insight. Demsey apologized last week on Instagram for making “the horrible mistake of carelessly reposting a racist meme without reading it beforehand.” Earlier in the week, Estee Lauder had placed Demsey on unpaid leave for an unspecified period after his Feb. 21 Instagram post that included the slur on a mock children’s-book cover featuring Sesame Street characters. Demsey didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday. An Estee Lauder spokeswoman said that Demsey wasn’t fired but rather was “told he had to leave the company” and agreed to retire this week. Estee Lauder shares were down 1.9% to $294.58 at 9:48 a.m. in New York. Subscribe to Ad Age now for award-winning news and insight. —Bloomberg News

Estee Lauder terminates John Demsey over Instagram post

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