Uju Anya, a Nigerian-born associate professor of second language acquisition who joined the Pittsburgh university in 2021, resurfaced in an old exchange this month. After a user noted that she seemed to cheer only when white people died, Anya replied: “Die first, white man, then ask yourself why I’m dancing.” The line was paired with a dancing video.
That was not a one-off. She previously marked Rush Limbaugh’s death by calling it the first positive thing he had done and wishing “good riddance.” When Queen Elizabeth II died, Anya hoped the monarch suffered an “excruciating” end. She later called Charlie Kirk a “shitbag” and said he should “rot.”
For years the academy treated this as protected speech, or at least as someone else’s problem. Anya even acted as if she were untouchable. Then the posts spread, Elon Musk amplified them, and Carnegie Mellon issued a statement. The university said it is “deeply concerned” by the “hostile and threatening” posts, that they do not reflect the school’s views, and that they run contrary to its community standards. Anya is on previously scheduled voluntary professional leave and is not teaching this academic year. Her X account disappeared after the blowback.
The double standard is the point. If a white professor had posted “Die first, Black woman” over a dance video, the same institutions would have moved within hours. Here the response is a review, a distancing statement, and a paid sabbatical. Elite universities spent a decade lecturing the country about safety and inclusion. They have far less to say when the target is white men.
Sources:
New York Post, Sept. 14, 2026
Carnegie Mellon University statement, Sept. 12, 2026
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