Mayor drawn into controversy over post calling Michelle Obama an ‘ape in heels’
A towm mayor has become embroiled in a huge controversy after she responded to a Facebook post referring to Michelle Obama as an “ape in heels”.
The original message was posted by Pamela Ramsey Taylor, who runs a not for profit group in Clay County.
She wrote: “It will be refreshing to have a classy, beautiful, dignified first lady in the White House. I’m tired of seeing a Ape in heels.”
Responding, the mayor of CLay, Beverly Whaling wrote: “just made my day Pam”.
The town of 491 residents has a pretty white makeup.
According to a census from 2010, Clay County has no African American residents, and 98 percent of its 9,000 residents are white.
But despite the small populations, respectively, the tweet caught the eye of many on the internet after local station WSAZ3 reported on the message.
Within days, nearly a hundred thousand people had signed a petition to have both the women sacked.
Some are already reporting that Taylor has already been sacked for the offensive message.
But she told WSAZ3 that she realised her post could be “interpreted as racist, but in no way was intended to be”. She said she was rating the first lady and upcoming first lady by attractiveness, and that it had no bearing on race.
She also said she was considering suing individuals for slander.
A statement from Mayor Whaling said: “My comment was not intended to be racist at all”. She apologised for the comment “getting out of hand.”
“I was referring to my day being made for change in the White House! I am truly sorry for any hard feeling this may have caused! Those who know me know that I’m not of any way racist!” she added.
