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Beverly Whaling, the mayor of Clay town in West Virginia, has resigned after she was caught up in a controversy over racist comments about First Lady Michelle Obama.

The mayor had appeared to applaud a racist Facebook post referring to Michelle Obama as an “ape in heels”.

Beverly Whaling wrote that the post had made her day, but later said she was referring to the election outcome.

A petition calling for her resignation had gathered over 170,000 signatures.

Beverly Whaling was the mayor of the town of Clay, which has a population of just 491.Melania Trump Michelle Obama plagiarism

Clay has no African American residents, according to the 2010 census. In Clay County as a whole, more than 98% of its 9,000 residents are white.

Beverly Whaling had responded to a Facebook post by Pamela Ramsey Taylor, a local resident who runs a non-profit group in Clay County, which referred to Michelle Obama as an “ape”.

Pamela Ramsey Taylor wrote on her Facebook page: “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.”

Mayor Beverly Whaling quickly responded with a comment: “Just made my day Pam.”

While Clay County has a small population, the furor over the Facebook post spread far and wide.

Pamela Ramsey Taylor had already been dismissed from her post.

Beverly Whaling had already issued a written apology to news media outlets saying that her comment wasn’t intended to be racist.

She said: “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 in any way racist!”

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A controversial Facebook post about First Lady Michelle Obama has sparked outrage after involving a town mayor in West Virginia.

Pamela Ramsey Taylor, who runs a local non-profit group in Clay County, 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 Ape in heels.”

Clay Mayor Beverly Whaling responded with “just made my day Pam”.

Beverly Whaling is mayor of the town of Clay, which has a population of just 491.

Clay has no African American residents, according to the 2010 census. In Clay County as a whole, more than 98% of its 9,000 residents are white.Michelle Obama dancing White House Easter Egg Roll 2015

Despite the small population in the region, the controversial Facebook post spread across US and international media outlets.

A petition calling for both women to be sacked has collected more than 85,000 signatures.

According to the Washington Post and New York Daily News, Pamela Ramsey Taylor was removed from her position on November 14.

Pamela Ramsey Taylor told local news outlet WSAZ, which first carried the story, that she acknowledged her Facebook post could be “interpreted as racist, but in no way was intended to be”, and that she was expressing a personal opinion on attractiveness, not the color of a person’s skin.

She told the news station she was considering legal action for slander against unnamed individuals.

The Clay County Development group, of which Pamela Ramsey Taylor is the director, is partly funded through state and federal grants, and the group provides services to elderly and low-income residents.

In a statement given to the Washington Post, Mayor Beverly Whaling said: “My comment was not intended to be racist at all” and apologized 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!” the mayor said.

Owens Brown, director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People West Virginia chapter, said it was “unfortunate that people still have these racist undertones”.

West Virginia Democratic Party Chairwoman Belinda Biafore issued an apology to Michelle Obama “on behalf of my fellow Mountaineers”, referring to a nickname for inhabitants of the state.

“West Virginia truly is better than this. These radical, hateful, and racist ideals are exactly what we at the West Virginia Democratic Party will continue to fight against,” she said in a statement.

West Virginia voted for Donald Trump in the presidential election with 68.7% of the vote.