The Fashion Set Defends Former Estée Lauder Exec John Demsey After Meme Scandal

by Stephanie Maida · February 28, 2022

Take a scroll through John Demsey's Getty Images portfolio and you'll find nary a celebrity or fashion world insider who hasn't been photographed next to the guy. So, it's no wonder that so many of them have been coming to his defense following his very public ousting and fall from grace this week.

The longtime Estée Lauder executive, who, despite overseeing major cosmetics brands including MAC, Clinique, Too Faced, and Smashbox, somehow found the time to moonlight as an Instagram memer, has been forced out of the company following an offensive (and, to be honest, totally not funny) post that featured a slur with asterisks.

Demsey deleted the meme after receiving widespread backlash, but it was obviously too late: Estée Lauder put him on unpaid leave in a move believed to be forcing him into retirement rather than outright firing him.

Over the weekend, Demsey addressed the meme scandal with a letter posted to his Instagram, which boasts over 74,000 followers. "I am 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 wrote in his statement.

And while the requisite apology was to be expected, the post surprisingly found lots of support from notable names in the biz. Among the blue checks who left sympathetic comments were Nina Garcia, Fern Mallis, Claiborne Swanson Frank, Jessica Joffe, Donald Robertson, Laura Slatkin, Ann Dexter Jones, Martine Assouline, photography duo Inez & Vinoodh and more. It seems they've all accepted his apology, although it's not really theirs to accept.