--- description: An Arkansas high school teacher has been accused of making racist remarks about President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama on Facebook title: Arkansas Teacher Allegedly Called Michelle Obama 'First Chimp' on Facebook image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc051d8a1cb47d6b8/6988b42bcd1bbad12a7037d1/michelle-obama-racism.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Arkansas Teacher Allegedly Called Michelle Obama 'First Chimp' on Facebook ## 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 [Mahita Gajanan](/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Dec 29, 2016 7:36 PM CUT  US First Lady Michelle Obama speaks following a screening of the movie, "Hidden Figures," in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House in Washington, DC on December 15, 2016. US First Lady Michelle Obama speaks following a screening of the movie, "Hidden Figures," in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House in Washington, DC on December 15, 2016.SAUL LOEB—AFP/Getty Images by [Mahita Gajanan](/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Dec 29, 2016 7:36 PM CUT An Arkansas high school teacher has been accused of making racist remarks about [President Obama](http://time.com/4619409/relations-us-israel-obama-trump-natanyahu/ "undefined") and first lady [Michelle Obama](http://motto.time.com/4618912/michelle-obama-facebook-post-fired/ "undefined") on Facebook. Trent Bennett, a science teacher at Malvern High School, allegedly called Obama a “spider monkey,” and referred to Michelle Obama as the “first chimp,” according to [KATV](https://twitter.com/KATVSarafina/status/813890461265960960/photo/1?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw "undefined"), an ABC affiliate that cited screen shots of the Facebook posts. “Michelle Obummer … America’s First Chimp,” Bennett allegedly [wrote](https://twitter.com/KATVSarafina/status/813890461265960960/photo/1?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw "undefined") in a post that is no longer visible. The [Malvern School District](https://www.facebook.com/malvernschools/ "undefined") said it was investigating Bennett regarding the posts. “Over the Holiday weekend the District became aware of what appears to be a social media post by a district employee on his personal account that was inappropriate, insensitive, and used racially charged rhetoric,” the district said in a [Facebook statement](https://www.facebook.com/malvernschools/ "undefined"). “In no way are these posts reflective of the District. The District is currently investigating the matter and due to privacy laws and regulations are not able to comment specifically on any details related to the investigation. The District takes this kind of activity very seriously and the appropriate measures will be taken once the investigation is complete.” Obama has [repeatedly faced racist remarks](http://time.com/4573554/michelle-obama-racism-first-lady/ "undefined") during her time as first lady. A West Virginia nonprofit director who [compared her to an ape](http://motto.time.com/4618912/michelle-obama-facebook-post-fired/ "undefined") in a Facebook post last month lost her job over the comment. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4619690/michelle-obama-racist-remark-arkansas-teacher/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4619690/michelle-obama-racist-remark-arkansas-teacher/"},"headline":"Arkansas Teacher Allegedly Called Michelle Obama 'First Chimp' on Facebook","datePublished":"2016-12-29T19:36:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T02:30:05.693Z","description":"He is also accused of calling President Obama a \"spider monkey\"","url":"https://time.com/4619690/michelle-obama-racist-remark-arkansas-teacher/","keywords":["Arkansas","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc051d8a1cb47d6b8/6988b42bcd1bbad12a7037d1/michelle-obama-racism.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mahita Gajanan","jobTitle":"Gajanan is an editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc051d8a1cb47d6b8/6988b42bcd1bbad12a7037d1/michelle-obama-racism.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-POLITICS-OBAMA-HIDDEN FIGURES","caption":"US-POLITICS-OBAMA-HIDDEN FIGURES","creditText":"SAUL LOEB—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4619690/michelle-obama-racist-remark-arkansas-teacher/","name":"Arkansas Teacher Allegedly Called Michelle Obama 'First Chimp' on Facebook"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"West Virginia Mayor Resigns Over Racist Comment","description":"West Virginia Mayor resigns amid fallout from Michelle Obama ‘Ape in Heels’ comment","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/gm7nP1yI/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-11-16T16:03:02.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/gm7nP1yI.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4619690/michelle-obama-racist-remark-arkansas-teacher/","duration":"PT46S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4619690/michelle-obama-racist-remark-arkansas-teacher/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```