A woman who was briefly a Liberal candidate in the Nova Scotia election says the party asked her to lie about why she dropped out, having her cite mental health concerns.

       Robyn Ingraham says in a social media post that the real reason she was dropped in the riding of Dartmouth South was because of revealing photos that she had posted in the past and that she says she had disclosed to the party.

       “During the application process I was very open about my story and my time in front of photographers’ lenses,” she wrote, noting that she has used multiple platforms to express herself online, including the OnlyFans subscription service. “I explained that I love to show off the artwork on my skin, and I have no problem taking boudoir photos alone and with friends.”

       Ingraham said she explained to a number of people in the party during her application that if her photos became public, “there would be a teachable moment for the community and province.”

       She said she got a call from the party Friday night, the eve of the election call, to say the photos had got out, and the next morning she was told she was being dropped as a candidate. She said she was asked to blame her mental illness as the reason for exiting the campaign.

       Ingraham announced Saturday she would not be running, citing “the time commitment and intensity of a campaign and the impact it will have on my mental health.”

       But in her social media post Wednesday, Ingraham said she doesn’t want to leave that impression with the public.

       “After sitting with the fact that I let myself and those around me down by hiding behind my mental illness to save something bigger than I – I was furious,” she wrote.

       Ingraham, a barber and small business owner, also published an e-mail she said she sent to Liberal Leader Iain Rankin saying she thinks the party has made a mistake by forcing her out of the election.

       “The misogynistic behaviour of those above you is not tolerable. It’s not my job to make old white men comfortable,” she wrote.

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       “Once again I have every right to use ‘my’ body for whatever I want. That includes taking photos and selling them online if I see fit. The faster this government acknowledges and protects us humans, the sooner they will have the support from the province as a whole.”

       Party officials were not immediately available to comment.

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