A racist Facebook post about Michelle Obama has caused a major controversy involving a town mayor in the US state of West Virginia, BBC reports.
Pamela Ramsey Taylor, who runs a local non-profit group in Clay County, referred to the first lady as an “ape.”
“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,” she said.
Local mayor Beverly Whaling responded with “just made my day Pam”.
Ms Whaling is mayor of the town of Clay, which has a population of just 491.
It has no African American residents, according to the 2010 census. In Clay County as a whole, more than 98per cent of its 9,000 residents are white.
Despite the small population in the region, the controversial Facebook post spread across United States and international media outlets.
A petition calling for both women to be sacked has collected more than 85,000 signatures.
The Washington Post and New York Daily News reported that Ms Taylor was removed from her position on Monday.