--- title: West Virginia Mayor Resigns Over Michelle Obama 'Ape’ Anger description: A mayor in West Virginia ensnared in controversy over a Facebook post that called First Lady Michelle Obama an “ape in heels” has resigned. canonical: https://time.com/4572463/west-virginia-mayor-resigns-michelle-obama-ape-heels/ author: Melissa Chan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-15T22:43:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T06:54:23.034Z article:section: Politics og:title: West Virginia Mayor Resigns Over Michelle Obama 'Ape in Heels’ Comment og:description: She wrote in a comment that the FLOTUS "ape in heels" post made her day og:url: https://time.com/4572463/west-virginia-mayor-resigns-michelle-obama-ape-heels/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt75f65e85e743568f/6988ae9fcd1bba5e797031ca/michelle-obama1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Campaign 2016 Michelle Obama og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: West Virginia Mayor Resigns Over Michelle Obama 'Ape in Heels’ Comment twitter:description: She wrote in a comment that the FLOTUS "ape in heels" post made her day twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt75f65e85e743568f/6988ae9fcd1bba5e797031ca/michelle-obama1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # West Virginia Mayor Resigns Amid Fallout From Michelle Obama ‘Ape in Heels’ Comment > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=7805bb90-bd48-4502-a0eb-6be2f424d5e5&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: West Virginia Mayor Resigns Over Racist Comment [Watch (HLS stream): West Virginia Mayor Resigns Over Racist Comment](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/gm7nP1yI.m3u8) (0:46)  _Published 2016-11-16. West Virginia Mayor resigns amid fallout from Michelle Obama ‘Ape in Heels’ comment_  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Nov 15, 2016 10:43 PM UTC West Virginia Mayor resigns amid fallout from Michelle Obama ‘Ape in Heels’ comment  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Nov 15, 2016 10:43 PM UTC The mayor of a West Virginia town [ensnared in controversy](http://time.com/4571315/west-virginia-michelle-obama-ape-heels/) over a Facebook post that called first lady Michelle Obama an “ape in heels” has resigned amid fallout from the racist remark. Clay Mayor Beverly Whaling was embroiled in backlash after she commented in agreement on the since-deleted post, which was written by Pamela Ramsey Taylor, the director of Clay County Development Corp. “Just made my day Pam,” Whaling wrote. More than 157,000 people have signed an online petition calling for both their ousters. Taylor, who runs a nonprofit that provides services to elderly and low-income residents in the county, has been put on leave, she told WCHS-TV. Whaling resigned, effective immediately, according to the [Associated Press](https://apnews.com/14bb575f63194df2890a27c2d1f1483e/The-Latest:-Mayor-resigns-for-response-to-racist-post?utm%5Fcampaign=SocialFlow&utm%5Fsource=Twitter&utm%5Fmedium=AP), which cited Joe Coleman, the town recorder in Clay, West Virginia. Earlier, she issued a [public apology](http://wchstv.com/news/local/clay-county-development-corporation-director-placed-on-leave-following-facebook-post) in which she maintains she is not a racist person. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4572463/west-virginia-mayor-resigns-michelle-obama-ape-heels/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4572463/west-virginia-mayor-resigns-michelle-obama-ape-heels/"},"headline":"West Virginia Mayor Resigns Amid Fallout From Michelle Obama ‘Ape in Heels’ Comment","datePublished":"2016-11-15T22:43:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-07T06:54:23.034Z","description":"She wrote in a comment that the FLOTUS \"ape in heels\" post made her day","url":"https://time.com/4572463/west-virginia-mayor-resigns-michelle-obama-ape-heels/","keywords":["West Virginia"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt75f65e85e743568f/6988ae9fcd1bba5e797031ca/michelle-obama1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt75f65e85e743568f/6988ae9fcd1bba5e797031ca/michelle-obama1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Campaign 2016 Michelle Obama","caption":"Campaign 2016 Michelle Obama","creditText":"Ross D. 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