The former candidate for Dartmouth South has posted a lengthy letter to social media saying she was dropped by the Liberals because of ‘boudoir’ photos.
Robyn Ingraham announced on social media on Saturday that she would no longer be running, less than 24 hours after the provincial election was called, because of the time commitment and the impact on her mental health.
She also said she had more thoughts and feelings on the matter, but she wasn’t ready to share them yet.
Ingraham has now offered up those thoughts in the letter she posted to her social media feeds along with an email she has sent off to Liberal Leader Iain Rankin.
She says she was forced out of the campaign because of the ‘boudoir photos,’ which she had disclosed before announcing her candidacy.
“During the application process I was very open about my story, and my time in front of photographers’ lenses,” Ingraham says. “I explained that I love to show off the artwork on my skin, and I have no problem taking boudoir photos alone and with my friends. I’ve used multiple platforms to express myself online, some including Instagram, Tumblr and OnlyFans.”
OnlyFans is a platform often used by adult performers, which allows users to pay a subscription fee to view the content. Ingraham says she used it to help her pay the bills after her income was reduced by the pandemic.
She’s a co-owner of Devoted Barbers and Co. in Dartmouth. The business is described as one of the few all female-led barber shops in Halifax Regional Municipality.
Ingraham says she was met with resistance during the initial approval process because of the online presence of her photos, but that she kept pushing forward.
“I explained to multiple people over the course of my application that if/when my photos were to come out, there would be a teachable moment for the community and province. This screams gender inequality from all angles, why should I be ashamed of my body and what I decide to do with it?”
Ingraham says while she was getting ready to meet Rankin at the Alderney Market in Dartmouth on Saturday morning for a campaign event she received a call from the party explaining the surfacing of her photos had “made the ‘higher ups’ worried.”
She says she was texted two prewritten statements to choose from, which she then posted to her social media accounts.
“When I was told to step down, I was asked to blame myself,” Ingraham writes in her email to Rankin. “I blamed my mental illness, something I was going to use as an advantage for your government. Something I’m not ashamed of, something I speak about daily to break the stigma.”
She says she initially posted the statement because she was worried about the impact her absence from the campaign would have on the team that worked hard to get her onboard.
Ingraham says upon further reflection, she wants her own statement to be heard.
“All I want is for the real story to be out there, and for those to know that though my mental illness’ have hindered me in the past – they are not responsible for this,” Ingraham says.
Meantime, Rankin has repeatedly told reporters since the weekend that it was Ingraham who made the decision to step down on her own.
