NEW YORK — More than 130,000 people have signed a petition demanding the removal of Ellen Pao, Reddit Inc.’s interim chief executive officer, after she dismissed an executive and was accused of censoring online message boards.

Pao fired Victoria Taylor, the director of talent for the San Francisco-based company that operates an online message forum. Most of Reddit’s message boards experienced blackouts on July 3 as moderators protested the July 2 dismissal.

Even as Pao apologized for the handling of Taylor’s removal, the petition posted on Change.org had crossed the 100,000-signature barrier by Saturday and added more than 30,000 by midday Sunday.

The petition, posted four weeks ago, said Pao should be removed because a majority of Reddit users believe she “overstepped her boundaries and fears that she will run Reddit into the ground.” The petition and other online posts refer to a gender-bias suit Pao filed against venture-capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, where she used to work.

Pao, who was appointed Reddit CEO in November 2014, gained national prominence with the Kleiner suit. She lost in a jury verdict in March and has said she may appeal.

“Ellen has the full support of the team,” Heather Wilson, a spokeswoman for Reddit, said Sunday in an email. Wilson said Pao isn’t commenting on the petition.

Pao, 46, issued her apology on July 4, saying Reddit should have shared more information about Taylor’s exit. “We are working to make improvements and create the best experience for our users and we aren’t always perfect,” Pao said in the e- mailed statement.

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