Estée Lauder, owner of cosmetics brands such as Clinique and MAC, announced on Monday (28) the resignation of John Demsey, a top executive who had a career at the company since the 1990s and reached the position of chairman of the group.
The decision comes after a post he made on social media with racist slurs last week.
The post, already deleted from the executive’s Instagram account, showed the cover of a book with a parody of the “Sesame Street” cartoon with slurs.
In another post days later, Demsey said he was “deeply ashamed” for hurting so many people, and that it was a “horrible mistake”.
“I am very sorry to have let down the company to which I have dedicated my life’s work, as well as its employees, artists, friends and colleagues,” he wrote.
In the statement it released to announce the shutdown, Estée Lauder says that his post does not reflect the brand’s values and undermines the inclusion efforts adopted by the company.
“Inclusion, diversity and equity are central to our company’s values and priorities around the world. Over the past two years, we have worked to advance our approach to racial equity and analyzed where we can and must improve. Our employees, and especially our leaders seniors, are responsible for continuing to drive this progress and respect the values of this company”, reads the statement signed by William Lauder, chairman of the board, and Frabrizio Freda, CEO of the company.
Joana Cunha with Andressa Motter and Ana Paula Branco
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