The USA First Lady, Michelle Obama, was referred to as an “Ape in heels” by two US officials.
The director of government-funded non-profit, Clay County Development Corp. Pamela Ramsey Taylor, took to Facebook to make the statement afterDonald Trump was elected president.
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,” . This post attracted the attention of the mayor of Clay, a small town near Charleston in South Carolina. The mayor, Beverly Whaling replied with the comment, “Just made my day Pam.”
Both women have since deleted their Facebook accounts but screenshots of
the exchange have been shared widely on social media and people have
been calling for the removal of both officials since Sunday night.
A petition calling for them to be fired had garnered nearly
90,000 signatures as of Tuesday morning.
The backlash from the public has led to Ramsey Taylor being removed from
her job with the Clay County Development Corp. She told reporters that
she was sorry for everything that has happened, but says she now
believes the situation has turned into a “hate crime against me.”
Beverly Whaling issued an apology to The Washington Post, however calls for her to resign have continued. “My comment was not intended to be racist at all, 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 said.
The protests against both women was also taken to Twitter.
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