N.S. Liberal candidate says she was pressured to drop out

Robyn Ingraham said Wednesday she was forced out of Nova Scotia's Dartmouth South election due to concerns from Liberal Party officials over “boudoir photos.”

Ingraham said in a statement on Instagram that she informed the party about her “time in front of photographers lenses” during the application process, saying she enjoys showing off her tattooed artwork. Ingraham said she used multiple platforms to express herself online, including Instagram, Tumblr and OnlyFans. After informing the party about the photos she was “acclaimed” as the candidate.

“Roughly six hours later I received a phone call from my contact explaining that my photos have already surfaced and asked me if I've ever had sex for money,” said Ingraham on the social media post. “No I haven't — but they shouldn't have to ask and I don't think they have a right to.”

The former candidate said that following the question she was asked to call the communications director, where she was led to believe that everything was okay and she would proceed as the candidate. However, the following morning, Ingraham said an hour before she was to leave to meet Liberal Leader Ian Rankin, she received a call from her contact saying the images the party was previously made aware of were surfacing and that higher-up party officials were worried.

Two versions of a statement were then texted to her, Ingraham said. She chose one of the versions and posted it to social media out of concern for the team. According to Halifax Today, the post to social media cited the potential impact the campaign may have on her mental health. Later, Ingraham said she regretted posting the statement and regarded it as “hiding behind my mental illness to save something bigger than I.”

“I was furious. I sat for three hours and wrote an email to the premier about how this affected me and how their decisions made them look,” said Ingraham, emphasizing that mental illness was not the reason for her exiting the campaign.

The email sent to Rankin was added to Ingraham's statement on social media. It said that Ingraham received a green light from the party, while taking time off work and spending money from her business to promote the Liberal government. The former candidate added in the email that she has the right to use her body as she wishes, which includes “taking photos and selling them online, if I see fit.”

“I was told you had my back,” the email reads. “The misogynistic behaviour from those above you is not tolerable. It's not my job to make old white men comfortable.”

Liberal Leader Rankin said that Ingraham had been vetted by the party before her candidacy was finalized, reported CBC, but that “shortly after, she decided she was going to withdraw.”

Rankin said during a campaign stop that he learned Ingraham was dropping out from the Dartmouth South election from her initial social media post.

“Sometimes people are unfair,” Rankin said. “I would hope that more people start to accept people that have different lived experiences and that makes our representation better.”

Ingraham also said in the statement that as a small-business owner, the pandemic affected her financial security.

Having access to platforms with the ability to post photos and videos and collect a subscription fee appeared to be a way to address financial insecurity, she said.

“Although, I shouldn't have to explain myself. The platform is LEGAL,” said Ingraham.