Estée Lauder fires top executive John Demsey for posting a racist meme on Instagram

The beauty giant said that Demsey's post does not reflect the company's values.

FILE PHOTO: John Demsey at the Lincoln Center Corporate Fashion Gala in New York, Nov. 18, 2019.
Estée Lauder said Monday that it had asked John Demsey, a top executive at the beauty giant, to leave the company after he posted a meme containing a racial slur on his Instagram account.

"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," the company said in a staff memo, which was posted to its investor relations site.

A spokesperson for the company said that Demsey was not fired, but told that he had to leave the company. He agreed to retire effective March 4, according to a regulatory filing Monday.


The executive's racist post unleashed a firestorm in the beauty industry, where Demsey, 65, was a powerful figure, and where Estée Lauder has been under scrutiny for its diversity efforts. Demsey, an executive vice president at the company, oversaw a portfolio of major cosmetics brands that brought in billions of dollars in sales, including MAC, Clinique, Too Faced and Smashbox. He has tens of thousands of followers on Instagram, where he regularly posts memes along with beauty-related content.
Estée Lauder said in a Feb. 24 filing that Demsey was placed on unpaid leave. Over the weekend, Demsey posted an apology on Instagram, saying that he was "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., He added that it "undermined everything I have been working for since I began my career 31 years ago.,

Employees at Estée Lauder took the company to task in 2020 during the wave of calls for racial justice that followed the killing of George Floyd. At the time, employees criticized the political donations made to former President Donald Trump by Ronald Lauder, a board member and son of the company's founders, and they said that they were at odds with the company's stance on race.

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The company and Lauder promised to fight for racial justice and Estée Lauder said it would donate $5 million to "support racial and social justice and to continue to support greater access to education, and donate an additional $5 million over the following two years.

Demsey was among the highest-paid executives at Estée Lauder, where his total compensation was valued at $9.6 million in 2021, according to a regulatory filing. Forcing Demsey into retirement, rather than terminating him, may affect his stock awards and other compensation, according to the filing.

Jack Ma, Bezos, Travis Kalanick: Top Bosses Who Promoted Hostile Work Culture
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Being an industry leader is not child's play. Apart from taking one's business ahead and dealing with the complications that come along with it, inculcating a healthy work culture is also extremely important.

Recently, Alibaba Group boss Jack Ma received flak on social media for promoting a 12-hour-a-day and six-days-a-week work routine for success. However, he isn't the only one who, in an effort to be on the top, ended up promoting a hostile work culture.

Here's a look at some top bosses who haven't been appreciated for their leadership qualities.

(In pic from left: Jeff Bezos, Jack Ma, Travis Kalanick)

Being an industry leader is not child's play. Apart from taking one's business ahead and dealing with the complications that come along with it, inculcating a healthy work culture is also extremely i..
Read More

Jack Ma recently faced flak for his blog post endorsing the tech industry's overtime culture.

The 54-year-old encouraged employees to embrace the overtime culture if they wished to flourish in the tech world. He was also known to dismiss people expecting a typical, eight-hours-a-day work routine.

Earlier, China's richest man said that people who can stick to a hectic schedule are the ones that have found their passion beyond monetary gains.

Jack Ma recently faced flak for his blog post endorsing the tech industry's overtime culture. The 54-year-old encouraged employees to embrace the overtime culture if they wished to flourish in the te..
Read More

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is known for his temper outbursts, and his 'rage firings' have often made headlines. The 47-year-old, whose employees have reported incidents of extreme yelling, allegedly fires any employee who comes his way on a bad-temper day.

Earlier this month, Musk reportedly pushed a former employee who was saying goodbye to colleagues after having resigned from the company.

In another example, it was reported last December that the auto giant's employees were asked not to walk past Musk's desk in case it ruined their career.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is known for his temper outbursts, and his 'rage firings' have often made headlines. The 47-year-old, whose employees have reported incidents of extreme yelling, allegedly fires a..
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Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is known for his cut-throat management style as much as he is known for being the world's richest man. The top boss doesn't mince his words, and the e-commerce giant has gained a reputation for having a ruthless work culture.

As a leader, the 55-year-old is reported to be a difficult-to-please boss - who is easy to agitate. Stories of his comments including, "I'm sorry, did I take my stupid pills today?" and "Why are you ruining my life?" have often made it out of Amazon's office.

Bezos has reportedly been this way from the start. In 1997, three years after launching the company, in a letter to the shareholders, he had revealed that while interviewing prospective employees he always tells them, “You can work long, hard, or smart, but at Amazon.com you can't choose two out of three.”

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is known for his cut-throat management style as much as he is known for being the world's richest man. The top boss doesn't mince his words, and the e-commerce giant has gained ..
Read More

In 2017, Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick was forced to exit from the company. The decision was made after he was accused of sexual harassment by an ex-employee, Susan Fowler. But Fowler's account of her time at the company was just a trigger that led to a chain of reactions including complaints of a ‘toxic bro culture’ at Uber.

Soon stories highlighting the unhealthy, sexist work culture that had flourished for years under Kalanick made headlines.

In 2017, Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick was forced to exit from the company. The decision was made after he was accused of sexual harassment by an ex-employee, Susan Fowler. But Fowler's account of ..
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Uber's former Chief People Office Liane Hornsey was forced to leave the company in July last year on grounds of poor management of discrimination complaints filed within the company.

Ironically, Hornsey was Uber's spokesperson on diversity and discrimination. She was also accused of making derogatory comments against the global head of diversity and inclusion.

Uber's former Chief People Office Liane Hornsey was forced to leave the company in July last year on grounds of poor management of discrimination complaints filed within the company. Ironically, Horn..
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