Twitter removes CMU professor’s tweet wishing 'excruciating pain' for Queen Elizabeth II

Twitter has removed a post from a Carnegie Mellon University professor that called the British monarchy a “thieving raping genocidal empire” on the day that Queen Elizabeth II died.

The removed post from language professor Uju Anya said of the queen, “may her pain be excruciating.”

It was announced early Thursday that doctors and family had been sent to Queen Elizabeth’s residence in Scotland, and, later in the day, the Royal Family announced the queen had died. She was 96.

Before being removed, Anya’s tweet went viral. It was criticized by some, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who tweeted, “This is someone supposedly working to make the world better? I don’t think so. Wow.”

This is someone supposedly working to make the world better? I don’t think so. Wow. https://t.co/2zoi6CdFMq

— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) September 8, 2022

Anya’s tweet was removed for violating Twitter’s rules.

A request for comment from Twitter was not immediately returned.

CMU spokesman Peter Kerwin condemned Anya’s tweets about the queen. It is unclear if disciplinary action will be taken against Anya.

“We do not condone the offensive and objectionable messages posted by Uju Anya today on her personal social media account,” Kerwin said. “Free expression is core to the mission of higher education. However, the views she shared absolutely do not represent the values of the institution, nor the standards of discourse we seek to foster.”

Anya is faculty at CMU’s Department of Modern Languages. According to her bio on CMU’s website, she is a scholar of language learning and Black experiences in multilingualism. She has received teaching awards for her time at Penn State University and the University of Southern California.

She did not return requests seeking comment Thursday.

Though her first tweet was removed, Anya’s reply to that tweet still was posted. Anya defended her first tweet and criticized the British Monarch and its history of colonialism and efforts to thwart independence movements around the globe.

“If anyone expects me to express anything but disdain for the monarch who supervised a government that sponsored the genocide that massacred and displaced half my family and the consequences of which those alive today are still trying to overcome, you can keep wishing upon a star,” Anya tweeted.

If anyone expects me to express anything but disdain for the monarch who supervised a government that sponsored the genocide that massacred and displaced half my family and the consequences of which those alive today are still trying to overcome, you can keep wishing upon a star.

— Uju Anya (@UjuAnya) September 8, 2022