Estée Lauder executive forced out of the company for sharing racist post involving rapper Chingy

Estée Lauder asked senior executive John Demsey to leave his post after he shared an inappropriate meme which involved rapper Chingy and a racial slur. On Monday, February 28, 2022, the company announced the termination of John Demsey.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Demsey posted a meme on his instagram handle @jdemsey, which has since been deleted after receiving criticism from the public. Demsey shared a post based on the TV show Sesame Street which used the N-word, with asterisk signs replacing some of the letters.

The post shared by Demsey was mocking Covid-19. After receiving backlash from netizens, Demsey deleted the post and shared another in which he apologized.

The brand took strict action against Demsey and decided to force him out of the company, which was revealed in a letter released on elcompanies.com addressed to all its employees globally. The statement read,

"Today, John Demsey, Executive Group President, The Estée Lauder Companies, was informed he must leave the company, effective this week.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."

Demsey has worked for the brand for nearly three decades and has been successful so far, although this termination resulted in him taking a leave and retiring altogether.

The offensive meme he shared was captured by some fans.

Estee Lauder's executive chairman, William P. Lauder, and President and CEO, Fabrizio Freda, of Estee Lauder expressed through the letter,

"Our employees, and especially our senior leaders, are accountable to continue driving our progress and to respect the values of this company for the long term."

Chingy reacted to the situation through a video posted on Instagram that cleared that he was okay with the issue, and it didn't bother him. The rapper said,

"I didn't take it to heart, it didn't mean much to me, because I think it was an honest mistake."

Chingy was seen hanging out with her daughter in the video where he accepted Demsey's apology and declared peace through the post.

---

All about rapper Chingy

Chingy's official name is Howard Earl Bailey Jr., and he was born on March 9, 1980. The American rapper, actor, and record producer grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and began his rapping career in his late teens.

He toured with Nelly for the opening act in the summer of 2002, and then went on to become Ludacris' protégé for the DTP (Disturbing Tha Peace) record label. In 2003, the rapper made a debut with the single Right Thurr.

In 2003, he made his debut album Jackpot, which sold around two million copies. In 2004, Chingy released his second album, Poweballin', which received mixed reviews but which led to him gaining a reputation as a rapper in the music industry.

In 2005, the rapper made his debut in the acting world through the TV comedy series My Wife and Kids. In 2006, he did a cameo in the comedy film Scary Movie 4 and also had a role in the 2010 film Speed-Dating.

On July 4, 2018 he officially made his debut as a record producer with his single Sparks Fly.