Estée Lauder’s John Demsey Issues Apology Over Insensitive Instagram Meme

Ed.—This article has been updated.


A senior Estée Lauder Cos. executive apologized for posting a meme on his personal Instagram account that contained a racial slur and a joke about Covid-19.

Calling the meme racist, Executive Group President John Demsey, said in another Instagram post Friday that he is “terribly sorry and deeply ashamed” for his actions. He said he did not read the meme before posting it.

On Tuesday, Estée Lauder suspended Demsey without pay for an indeterminate amount of time.

A meme posted Monday to Demsey’s Instagram account pictured a spoof book cover of the children’s TV show “Sesame Street.” The post, which contained the N-word with some letters replaced with asterisks, no longer appears on Demsey’s account.

In his apology, Demsey noted: “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. I hope that in time people will judge me, not for this awful mistake, but for my lifetime of words and actions, which demonstrate my respect for all people.”

Demsey declined to comment further. For its part, Estée Lauder declined to elaborate on Demsey’s comment that he posted the meme without reading it.

Throughout his career, Demsey, 65, has been instrumental in tapping a diverse range of women as MAC ambassadors or collaborators, especially Black pop stars, including Rihanna, Mary J. Blige and recently Saweetie.

His Instagram account has more than 73,000 followers and nearly 51,000 posts that include fashion images and numerous memes that range from jokes about heiresses and poorly applied eyeliner, to ones about being unmotivated and depressed.