A US-based journalist with bylines in several established publications has deleted her Twitter after sending shockwaves across the platform by seemingly wishing death upon Britain’s Queen Elizabeth on New Years’ Eve.
Nylah Burton, a Chicago-based writer who also works as a “sexual assault prevention specialist” according to her profile at Bustle, courted massive controversy when she responded to the death of famed American TV and film actress Betty White.
"BETTY WHITE IS DEAD!?! Why couldn't it have been Queen Elizabeth?" Burton wrote in her now-defunct Twitter account on Friday evening.
Burton did not back down in the face of backlash, doubling down in a series of subsequent tweets.
“Why not Queen Elizabeth?? The universe took the wrong old white lady smdh,” Burton replied to one person who slammed her take on Betty White’s death as “a revolting thing to say.”
Burton later locked down her account and appeared to eventually remove it. It remained inaccessible as of Friday night.
Meanwhile, critics wasted no time, appealing to the outlets Burton used to work for in an apparent attempt to ‘cancel’ the journalist.
“This is appalling and requires immediate action,” one commenter wrote, tagging both Vogue Magazine and its publishing house Conde Nast. Others alerted Twitter Support, demanding the platform ban the journalist under its hate speech laws.
Prominent British journalist and TV personality Piers Morgan joined in on the criticism, calling Burton a “disgusting piece of work” over her comments.
In addition to Vogue and New York Magazine, Burton wrote for Bustle, ESSENCE, The Nation, Alma and Shondaland, a production company founded by writer Shonda Rhimes, where her profile describes her as a “weirdo.” She typically reports on the issues of social justice, identity, and mental health, and has penned several essays on Jews of color.