Official Fired For Calling First Lady Michelle Obama "An Ape In Heels"

This is Pamela Taylor.

She was fired from her position as a director of the Clay County Development Corporation after making a racist Facebook post about Michelle Obama.

After Donald Trump was elected president, Taylor posted, "It will be so refreshing to have a classy, beautiful, dignified First Lady back in the White House. I'm so tired of seeing a Ape in heels."

One of Taylor's Facebook friends is Beverly Whaling, the now-former mayor of the West Virginia town of Clay.

Whaling left a comment on Taylor's post that said, "Just made my day Pam."

While Taylor eventually deleted the post, it was too late.

People had captured screenshots of the nasty comments, and it went viral.

Both women have since said that they are not racist, and their comments weren't intended to be racist.

Taylor has gone so far as to say that she is the victim of hate crimes for the backlash she is now suffering. Whaling eventually resigned as mayor while maintaining that she is not racist.

Taylor also said that she was referring to the First Lady's attractiveness, not her skin color.

However, comparing black people to apes or monkeys has long been a racist trope.

As a reminder at this point in the story, we'd like to interject a little of the First Lady's background.

She has a bachelor's degree from Princeton University and a law degree from Harvard University. She has had success at every level in her career as a lawyer and public servant.

While many racist people have come out of the woodwork since Trump's election, the president elect has remained mostly silent on the issue.

On "60 Minutes," he did say that those who are committing hateful or threatening acts should "stop it." Let's hope that people listen to him.