Rapper Chingy says he is unbothered by a racist meme shared by Estée Lauder executive John Demsey.
An Estee Lauder senior executive has been fired following almost a week of pressure after he posted a racist meme on Covid-19 and involved artist Chingy. The Sesame Street meme saw Big Bird and another character wearing masks and using the n-word, which saw an outcry from people of color who support the brand.
According to CNN, Esteé Lauder said the termination was solely based on his post on Instagram that offended a lot of people including rapper Chingy
Demsey, who has been with the company for 31 years, is spending his final days in office this week.
The meme takes and edits a photo from the Sesame Street children’s book featuring Big Bird with a mask on and speaking ebonics, says Mr. Snuffleupagus had Covid.
“My n***a Snuffy done got the ‘rona at a Chingy concert.” After a swift backlash, the post was deleted, and Dempsey issued an apology.
“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 on Instagram. “There are not enough words to express my remorse and sorrow.”
He added that the post was a mistake and it undermined his legacy and everything he has worked for since joining the company over three decades ago.
“The meme is the furthest thing from what I stand for and I should have never reposted it,” he said in his statement posted on Instagram.
Demsey, who received support from his followers, added that he hoped he would be forgiven and judged by his actions, not the meme.
According to reports, Demsey was forced to retire, and his final day would be March 4. The company released an internal memo stating that the decision was as a resuly of the offensive post on Instagram that they say does not reflect the values of The Estée Lauder Companies
In the meantime, Chingy has been trending, but he has and has reacted to the meme or recent developments saying that he don’t have an issue with it.
“I just got off a military tour and now guess what I’m doing,” the rapper said. “I’m hanging out with my daughter while everybody around the world has they name in they mouth … I wanna say peace and love to John Demsey. Peace and love to that brother. I didn’t take it no certain type of way.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CailtR_A9l9/
A lot of folks on Twitter found it offensive.
$10,000,000 a year down the hole over CHINGY ??????????? I can’t breathe https://t.co/kk8qJe8Ros
— Freddie HotSpot (@HeavyFarda) February 28, 2022
