Estée Lauder executive fired from $10m-a-year job over racist meme claims he feels like he’s ‘under house arrest’ in his six-story NYC townhouse after being made the poster boy for ‘white privilege’
An Estée Lauder executive who was fired after posting a racist meme has claimed he feels he is “under house arrest” in his six-story New York City mansion, worth $9.2 million.
John Demsey, 67, was forced to leave the cosmetics company in February 2022 after 31 years under mounting public pressure.
He shared on his personal Instagram a Sesame Street-themed joke, which contained a racist slur, about the coronavirus.
It showed Big Bird at the bedside of an ailing Mr. Snuffleupagus and read, “My n***a Snuffy got the ‘rona at a Chingy concert.’
Demsey, branded a poster boy for “white privilege,” has spoken out for the first time, saying, “I made a mistake.” He has maintained that he misinterpreted the meme initially shared by rapper Chingy.
Former Estée Lauder executive John Demsey, who was fired after posting a racist meme, said he feels he is “under house arrest” in his six-story, $9.2 million New York City mansion
Demsey, who is divorced, lives in the brown house in the middle with his 14-year-old daughter Marie-Hélène, eight dogs and two cats
He was forced to leave the cosmetics company in February 2022 amid mounting public pressure after sharing a Sesame Street-themed joke on Instagram that contained racial slurs.
Demsey was first suspended without pay by Estée Lauder CEO Fabrizio Freda and chairman William Lauder, but he was soon fired from his $10 million a year job.
He quit as part of a legal agreement after being labeled a racist for sharing the offensive meme.
“It felt like I had been the victim of identity theft,” Demsey said The New York Post.
“I made a mistake and I corrected it. But the life I had before this happened simply no longer exists.’
He has spent most of his time in the six-story East Side mansion, which he shares with his 14-year-old daughter, Marie-Hélène, eight dogs and two cats.
His home, valued at $9.2 million, is filled with art, furnishings, and nearly 600 photographs, including Henri Cartier-Bresson historic prints and photos from Demsey’s many MAC campaigns.
Demsey, who is divorced, shared how he has felt angry and depressed for the past 18 months.
He’s spent time exercising and lost 35 pounds, but is mostly stuck in the house he bought in 2018.
“It almost feels like I’ve been grounded,” Demsey said. “And when I go out, people pretend to sit shiva in front of me.”
Demsey, pictured with MAC Cosmetics president Philippe Pinatel, who labeled the poster boy “white privilege,” has spoken out for the first time, saying, “I made a mistake.”
He was first suspended without pay by Estée Lauder CEO Fabrizio Freda and chairman William Lauder, but he was soon fired from his $10 million a year job.
Demsey has maintained he misinterpreted the meme initially shared by rapper Chingy (pictured)
The former executive group president of the Estée Lauder Companies admitted that his actions were “stupid and impulsive” and that they stemmed from his overuse of Instagram during the pandemic.
“I posted about 20 to 30 times a day,” he said. “People really responded to it and it just became something like that.”
He added that the meme randomly popped up on his Instagram feed and insists it read “n***a” as “nanna.”
Demsey said, “I’ve never used that word in my life,” referring to the racial slur.
But he was considered a liability and ‘cancelled’.
“I was a bit of an impresario,” he claimed. “And the companies and people I supported were very successful because that’s how I was.”
Creative director June Ambrose defended Demsey, saying, “But just because you’re privileged doesn’t mean you’re racist.
“Sure, John’s actions were sloppy, but I thought he’d get suspended and Lauder would step over that.”
He revealed that he was disappointed by friends who did not publicly support him after he left Estée Lauder.
Demsey said it was made more difficult because he viewed the Lauders as his extended family.
“I loved the family, especially (Chairman Emeritus) Leonard Lauder, because I felt their values were so inconsistent with what other companies stood for,” he added.
Demsey explained how he has felt angry and depressed for the past eighteen months. He’s spent time exercising and lost 35 pounds, but is largely stuck in the house he bought in 2018
He has maintained that he misinterpreted the meme and at the time shared a statement on Instagram apologizing for sharing it
John Demsey tried to make MAC a more inclusive brand by enlisting Mary J. Blige to help promote it
Demsey pictured with Drew Barrymore at a holiday party at a private home in December 2021
He doesn’t want his social media legacy defined as “just three hours.”
“I don’t want to be known as the ‘cancelled man,'” he said.
He plans to return to the social scene he was once the center of.
The former principal hosted a birthday party for Ambrose at his home in June. It was attended by actor Zachary Quinto and Bergdorf Goodman director Linda Fargo.
“I’m not done, not at all,” he insisted. “I have much more in me, much more to say. The world is still a very exciting place.”
His father died in June 2022 and he moved his mother, who was battling cancer, to New York from Ohio to care for her.
He married his ex-wife Anouschka Izmirlian, a gemologist and adviser to the Armenia mission to the United Nations, in 2007, according to the wedding announcement in The New York Times.
Demsey helped transform Estée Lauder from a privately held family business into a publicly traded giant worth $100 billion at its peak.
He joined in 1991 when the company purchased MAC, a Canadian cosmetics company.
He also oversaw smaller brands Too Faced and Smashbox. The deposed executive transformed MAC into a global brand and rose to executive group president in 2015.
Demsey was praised for bringing black celebrities such as singers Mary J. Blige, Saweetie and Rihanna to the MAC brand. Demsey also launched the MAC Viva Glam campaign, which raised $430 million to fight AIDS/HIV.
He is still covered by a non-full clause, but has taken on a senior advisory role at private equity firm L Catterton, where he will help find new business opportunities.