Brandon Truaxe, the openly gay 40-year old founder of the hugely successful skin care company Deciem, has died according to an internal email said WWD.
The email, from Deciem chief executive Nicola Kilner, said Truaxe passed over the weekend, and asked for Deciem's operations to close for the day. A source with knowledge of the situation told WWD that Truaxe died in Toronto, but cause of death could not be learned by press time.
Truaxe was known for his dramatic antics on social media that led to his ouster from the compony he founded last year.
Vox reported that Estée Lauder, a minority investor in the company, took legal action against Truaxe in October 2018 after he posted on Instagram that the company should immediately be shut down because of “financial crimes” he said had been committed.
Truaxe had been posting erratic videos and messages on his personal Instagram page for the last few weeks said Vox.
Vox revealed his his last four IG posts, from January 19th, were videos that appear to have been made by Truaxe alone from his penthouse in Toronto, whose address he publicized.
Commenters expressed concern about his stated drinking, as he claimed to be drinking tequila. One wrote, “BE SAFE.”
