The Nonprofit Director Behind Racist Anti-FLOTUS Post Is Officially Out Of A Job

The West Virginia nonprofit director who came under fire for a Facebook post that called first lady Michelle Obama an "ape in heels” has lost her job. Pamela Ramsey Taylor was suspended from her job at the helm of the Clay County Development Corp. after the post went viral in November. Then, earlier this month, officials announced that she was going to return to the post on December 23. But the attention brought on by the controversy prompted officials to take a closer look at how the nonprofit, which receives government funding, was being run, The Washington Post reports. Issues discovered during those reviews led officials to remove Taylor and take over the nonprofit, according to the paper. Taylor has said that the post wasn't intended to be racist.

Update: December 12: Remember the West Virginia nonprofit director who was apparently "removed" from her position in November because she referred to Michelle Obama as an "ape in heels"? Well, she's actually going back to work on December 23, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reported. Pamela Ramsey Taylor, director of the Clay County Development Corp., first came under fire in November because of the racist anti-FLOTUS Facebook post she made after President-elect Donald Trump won the election. According to The Washington Post, the board of the nonprofit organization had decided to remove her from the position when the exchange with West Virginia Mayor Beverly Whaling went viral. But it seems to be that she was only suspended for barely a month and a half, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reported.

This article was originally published on November 15, 2016.

Clay, West Virginia Mayor Beverly Whaling has resigned in the wake of a racist Facebook post directed against First Lady Michelle Obama. The post in question was by Pamela Ramsey Taylor, director of the Clay County Development Corp., who expressed her satisfaction with Donald Trump's victory by writing that, "It will be refreshing to have a classy, beautiful, dignified First Lady in the White House. I'm tired of seeing an ape in heels." Clay Mayor Beverly Whaling agreed, responding, "Just made my day Pam." The pair quickly came under fire for their comments. One petition to have them removed from office collected 166,00 signatures as of press time. Taylor has reportedly also been removed from her position, according to WSAZ.

Whaling initially told WSAZ reporter Jatara McGee that the response to her post, including apparent death threats, “has been a hate crime against me.” She recanted the statement, and her initial post, in a statement provided to the Washington Post on Monday. “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 told the newspaper. “Again, I would like to apologize for this getting out of hand!” Clay County broke heavily for the Republican candidate, with apparently more than three-quarters of the votes cast going Trump's way.