A West Virginia official who slurred Michelle Obama has been quietly reinstated after being fired in early November.
Pamela Taylor, director of the Clay County Development Corp., was removed from her position after she was on record saying, “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,” The Hill noted.
Taylor’s remarks came after Donald Trump’s victory in the election, The Huffington Post noted.
She later deleted her comment and appeared to deactivate her Facebook account.
Council member Jason Hubbard was one who condemned Taylor’s remarks, calling them “horrible and indecent,” according to CBS News.
Hubbard said Taylor's message of racism and intolerance “isn’t what this community is about.”
“This community is a helpful, hopeful, empathetic and God-loving community,” he said, according to CBS News. “Please don’t judge the entire community for one or two individual acts.”
Taylor’s controversial Facebook post also cost former Clay Mayor Beverly Whaling her job after she commented on the post saying, “just made my day,” The Hill noted.
Taylor and Whaling’s remarks sparked a petition with nearly 1,500 people demanding for the both of them to be removed from their positions.
Taylor and Whaling issued apologies following the backlash, The Huffington Post noted. Taylor said her comment might have been “interpreted as racist but was in no way intended to be.”
According to recent reports, Taylor will be getting her job back on Dec. 23.
“The state bureau’s commissioner, Robert Roswall, has warned the Clay agency that any discrimination from staff would jeopardize their state and federal funding,” the Charleston Gazette-Mail reported.
The organization provides services to the elderly and received $1.5 million in federal funding and more than $360,000 in state funding in 2014.