Estee Lauder executive fired over meme with racial slur

John Demsey, a senior executive with New York-based Estee Lauder, has reportedly been fired from the makeup company after posting a "Sesame Street" meme on Instagram containing a racial slur and a joke about COVID-19.

The company then released a memo on Monday announcing Demsey's departure, stating, in part, that the decision is "a 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."

A meme posted last week to Demsey's account pictured "a spoof book cover" of the children's TV show "Sesame Street," the Wall Street Journal reported.

The particular post "contained the N-word with some letters replaced with asterisks," according to the Wall Street Journal. "My n***a Snuffy done got the 'rona at a Chingy concert," the "Sesame Street" meme posted to Instagram reads.

The post "no longer appears on Mr. Demsey's account," according to the Wall Street Journal, and Demsey has publicly apologized for the meme he called racist.

In another Instagram post, Demsey said he was "terribly sorry and deeply ashamed," and that he didn't read the meme before posting it.

"Not only did I hurt many people whom I respect, the terrible mistake that I made has undermined everything I have been working for since I began my carrer 31 years ago," Demsey told his Instagram followers last week. "The meme is the furthest thing from what I stand for and I should have never reposted it."