What did John Demsey post on Instagram? Estee Lauder exec suspended over social media content

John Demsey, a top executive of Estee Lauder, was recently suspended in response to his Instagram post.

Demsey became a part of Lauder in 1991. Since 2015, the former has been working as an executive group president at the company.

WWD secured an internal memo that mentioned John’s unpaid leave. The memo said:

“Effective immediately, John Demsey is being placed on unpaid leave due to content posted on his Instagram handle. The content posted does not represent the values of The Estée Lauder Companies. As a company deeply committed to inclusive actions and behavior, and in line with our company policies, our employees and our leadership are accountable for upholding these values.”

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What did John Demsey’s inapposite post mention?

Demsey’s controversial Instagram post mentioned the N-word.

As reported by The Wall Street Journal, the beauty giant’s executive president posted inappropriately, which also included a joke about COVID-19.

The post, which now stands deleted, was a meme that exhibited a mock-up of a book cover that featured Sesame Street star Big Bird with a photoshopped mask.

John currently has over 73,000 followers on Instagram. On the other hand, Estée Lauder did not release a statement clarifying the reason behind the executive’s suspension.

As per the information received from a source, the beauty giant’s board met on Tuesday to hold a discussion about Demsey’s post.

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Learn more about John Demsey

John is the divorced father of a teenage boy. He is quite popular among the New York City party circuit and high-powered celebrities.

Demsey completed his education at Stanford University and New York University’s Stern School of Business. It was then in the 1990s that he began his career in the cosmetics industry.

Moving on, he became the president of Estee Lauder’s subsidiary, MAC Cosmetics, in 1998. Then in 2006, he was designated as the global president for Estee Lauder.

Over the years, John built his strong portfolio by working with many big names, including Clinique, Aramis and Designer Fragrances, Prescriptives, MAC Cosmetics, Bobbi Brown, Jo Malone London, Bumble and Bumble, Tom Ford Beauty, Smashbox, Rodin olio Lusso, Le Labo, Editions de Perfumes Frédéric Malle, and Glamglow.

From 2020 onwards, his role shifted to pay greater attention to makeup. He superintended MAC, Clinique, Too Faced, Smashbox, Glamglow, and Tom Ford Beauty.