Estée Lauder Cos. has fired John Demsey, a senior executive who last week posted a meme on his personal Instagram account that contained a racial slur and a joke about Covid-19.
The company announced his exit Monday morning in a memo to staff that was posted to the cosmetics company’s website shortly after The Wall Street Journal reported on his termination. Mr. Demsey “was informed he must leave the company, effective this week,” the memo said. An Estée Lauder spokeswoman said he agreed to retire.