St. Louis born rapper Chingy, maybe the first artist in hip hop history to unintentionally be involved in someone’s firing. The “Right Thurr” rapper was shocked, like many people on social media Monday afternoon, after it was revealed that Estée Lauder executive John Demsey has been ousted be the skin care company after he shared a meme many critics found racist.
The meme, posted last week on Demsey’s Instagram page, featured Sesame Street characters Big Bird and Mr. Snuffleupagus, and it included the caption, “My n***a Snuffy done got the ‘rona at a Chingy concert.” Chingy reacted to the news in the comments section of an apology post from Demsey posted to his Instagram account.
“I’m CHINGY who you wurr speaking of and I didn’t take it a way at all,” the “Holidae In” rapper wrote. “Matter fact I can tell you wurr jus trying to be hip like the kids today an it jus came out the wrong way. I didn’t see it as being a racial slurr ethier my brother. I love you guys products always have and I hope you keep yurr job my man.”
The 41-year-old later returned to social media her shared a clip addressing the incident–the rapper was spotted alongside his daughter Galaxii Bailey, whom he welcomed in March 2019.
“Y’all wanna know what I’m doing while everybody is gossiping talking about I’m trending around the world over some stuff I’m not even concerned about and I didn’t take to heart…It doesn’t mean much to me because I think it was just an honest mistake the guy made,” he said.
The Platinum-selling star revealed that he had recently gotten off a military tour and was hanging with his daughter “while everyone in the world has my name in their mouth. Peace and love to that brother. I didn’t take it no type of way.”
Demsey, who is white, faced backlash following his slur-tainted social media post. His now-former employer released a statement almost immediately stating that Demsey did not “reflect the values of The Estée Lauder Companies.”
“This decision is the 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,” the statement read. “Our employees, and especially our senior leaders, are accountable to continue driving our progress and to respect the values of this company for the long term.”
Demsey’s action reportedly cost him nearly $10 million a year salary.
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