Official Who Called First Lady an 'Ape' Gets Her Job Back

The head of a West Virginia nonprofit that receives both state and federal funding will get her job back a little over a month after calling Michelle Obama an "ape in heels." Following Donald Trump's election win, Pamela Taylor—then executive director of the Clay County Development Corp, which assists the poor and elderly—wrote on Facebook, "It will be refreshing to have a classy, beautiful, dignified First Lady in the White House. I'm tired of seeing a [sic] Ape in heels," per the Hill. Clay Mayor Beverly Whaling, who commented that the post "just made my day," later resigned, while Taylor was removed from her post; a petition calling for her ouster garnered 199,000 signatures.

She is now to be reinstated on Dec. 23, according to a letter sent to the West Virginia Bureau of Senior Services from CCDC's acting director, obtained by the Charleston Gazette-Mail, which notes her tenure with the CCDC hasn't been an uninterrupted one. In 1999, Taylor lost her position due to restructuring but was reinstated by a judge's order. Three years later, she was again removed, accused of stealing fundraising money, only to return after a few months. Before she was removed in November, Taylor apologized for the Facebook comment but told WSAZ it led to a "hate crime against me," noting she and her children had received death threats. (A doctor was fired over a similar comment.)