US university fires doctor over Michelle Obama 'monkey' remarks

A doctor in Colorado is facing unemployment after a hospital and university have announced plans to cut ties with her following a racist rant against first lady Michelle Obama.

Dr. Michelle Herren, a pediatric anesthesiologist at Denver Health Medical Center, posted a since-deleted photograph of Michelle Obama yelling to Facebook with a caption that read: "Doesn't seem to be speaking too eloquently here, thank god we can't hear her! Harvard??? That's a place for 'entitled' folks said all the liberals!"

What Herrren meant with the Harvard comment is unclear but Obama is a graduate of the university's esteemed law school.

"Monkey face and poor ebonic English!!! There! I feel better and am still not racist!!! Just calling it like it is!," she added.

After initially seeking to distance itself from the comments, Denver Health later confirmed to Anadolu Agency on Thursday that it has decided Herren "will not be seeing patients or providing anesthesia services at Denver Health Medical Center".

The decision stands "until further notice", the facility said.

Hours after the hospital's move, Colorado University's School of Medicine, where Herren works an assistant professor, followed suit, because she "expressed values that are at odds with ours", Mark Crouch, a university spokesman, told The Denver Post newspaper.

Herren told a local television station her comments were taken "out of context", and that she did not realize that "monkey face" is offensive.

The comments directed at the first lady are the second to make national headlines in the past month after the director of a nonprofit in a West Virginia city posted she was "tired of seeing a [sic] Ape in heels" in the White House.

The agency's chief was fired for the offending post and the mayor of Clay resigned after responding to the post by saying, "Just made my day Pam".