The university professor who tweeted her disdain for the Queen and the Royal family has said that she will not apologize for wishing the monarch an "excruciating" death.
On Thursday Buckingham Palace announced that Queen Elizabeth II was under "medical supervision" in Balmoral after her doctors came concerned with her health. Approximately six hours later, the palace then revealed that Britain's longest-reigning monarch had passed away at the age of 96.
Between the announcements, many people around the world were glued to their screens - anxiously awaiting any news on the Queen's condition.
However, while many people tweeted out messages of support for the Royal Family, Dr. Uju Anya - a professor of linguistics and race at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania - shared the following message on social media, roughly one hour before the monarch's death was announced:
"I heard the chief monarch of a thieving raping genocidal empire is finally dying. May her pain be excruciating."
The tweet has since been removed by Twitter for violating community guidelines.
In a follow-up tweet, Dr. Anya provided an explanation for her sentiment, writing: "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."
Nevertheless, Dr. Anya has continued to face backlash - as well as support - from fellow social media users.
In a recent interview with The Cut, the Nigeria-born Dr. Anya spoke about her personal experience of British colonialism, describing it as a "very painful one".
Throughout the interview, Dr. Anya also referenced the Nigeria-Biafra war that resulted in the deaths of millions.
The professor stressed that this was something that has directly impacted her family and her life, adding that she Dr found it "deeply offensive" to be told she has to cry over somebody she views as a "violent oppressor".
She then added: "In my tweet, I did not wish her death. I did not tell anyone to kill her. I said nothing except wishing her the pain in death that she caused for millions of people. There’s not going to be any apology from me. I stand by what I said."
On Thursday, representatives for Carnegie Mellon University responded to Dr. Anya's initial tweet, writing in a statement: "We do not condone the offensive and objectionable messages posted by Uju Anya today on her personal social media account.
"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."
However, even the university's response has drawn more division, with some people continuing to call for Dr. Anya to be fired for her comments.
One person tweeted: "If she is still employed by you and still teaching impressionable youngsters then this statement is null and void!!!! I await your statement saying she as been sacked!!!!"
But many others believe the university should have shown more support for their faculty member and her expression of free speech.
"This is cowardly. You must understand the power dynamics at play here, and yet you set up one of your Black woman professors as a target for harassment for speaking on her and her family’s loved experience," Dr. Uché Blackstock responded.
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