Jeff Bezos's defense of Queen Elizabeth causes a stir on Twitter

Jeff Bezos was also one of the first CEOs to offer his condolences to the British people once the news of Queen Elizabeth's death broke.

With the death of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8, amid the outpouring of grief and sympathy around the world, there have also been reminders that the monarch had a role to play in the history of colonisation.

Responding to one such tweet, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos defended Queen Elizabeth minutes before her death was announced.

When Uju Anya, an associate professor of second language acquisition at Carnegie Mellon University tweeted, "I heard the chief monarch of a thieving raping genocidal empire is finally dying. May her pain be excruciating” Bezos was swift in his response.

"This is someone supposedly working to make the world better?" he tweeted. "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

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— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) September 8, 2022

Jeff Bezos was, incidentally, also one of the first CEOs to offer his condolences to the British people once the news of Queen ELizabeth's death broke.

"I can think of no one who better personified duty. My deepest condolences to all the Brits mourning her passing today," he had tweeted.

Read more: World lost extraordinary leader, I lost Grannie: Prince William

Meanwhile, Anya's tweet was taken down by Twitter, which found it violated its content policy. But, Bezos's defense sparked a debate on the platform with Anya tweeting to him, "May everyone you and your merciless greed have harmed in this world remember you as fondly as I remember my colonizers."

"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 added.

Read more: Could Queen Elizabeth II's death help reconcile Harry and Meghan with other royals?

While a number of Twitter users condemned Anya's remarks, a large number of them also defended her position and lashed out at Bezos.

"I think Uju Anya is misunderstood. She is referring to the British-sponsored genocide in Nigeria in 1967," said one Twitter user. Britain backed the Nigerian government during the former colony's civil war against the breakaway state of Biafra.

I think @UjuAnya is misunderstood.. She is referring to the British sponsored genocide in Nigeria in 1967.https://t.co/eeLadQNtUb — Unusual OBIDIENT of Earth (@Missions4real) September 9, 2022

Another Twitter user pointed out that Bezos chose to comment on Anya's tweet because she had supported Chris Smalls responsible for unioninsing Amazon.

You know why you picked this tweet out of the crowd.https://t.co/k7BE9akIWO — Honey'd Nymph of Evil (@ComrieQuinn) September 8, 2022

Interestingly, Amazon is a major donor to Carnegie Mellon University where Anya is employed.

In a statement, while the university did not condone the professor's words, it did distance itself from her views.

"We do not condone the offensive and objectionable messages posted by Uju Anya today on her personal social media account," the university said in a statement. " 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."

Read more: In Pics: King Charles III proclaimed Britain's new sovereign in historic ceremony