Carnegie Mellon University Reviews Professor’s Social Media Posts Following Anniversary of Charlie Kirk Assassination

Uju Anya, an associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University, posted several comments on the social media platform X on September 11, 2026, the one-year anniversary of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The posts included references to Kirk that used profanity and expressions of hostility. One post stated that Kirk was a “stbag” and another read, “May he rot in ps.” A third post said, “Die first, white man, then ask yourself why I’m dancing.”

The posts were highlighted by the account Libs of TikTok, which shared screenshots and identified Anya as a professor at Carnegie Mellon. The university later issued a statement confirming that Anya is on voluntary professional leave and is not teaching courses during the current academic year. The statement added that the institution is reviewing the matter due to concerns over recent social media activity.

Anya has previously drawn attention for other social media comments. In September 2022, while Queen Elizabeth II was on her deathbed, Anya wrote on the platform then known as Twitter that she had heard “the chief monarch of a thieving raping genocidal empire is finally dying” and added, “May her pain be excruciating.” At the time, Carnegie Mellon distanced itself from the remarks but did not terminate her employment. Anya told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that she stood by her statement, using an expletive to emphasize the point.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos publicly criticized the 2022 post on X, prompting Anya to respond in an interview with 1Hood Media. She stated that Bezos had “came at me” and exposed her to threats by sharing the post with his followers. She described the situation as placing a target on her back amid an existing controversy.

A petition circulated in 2022 defending Anya’s comments about the queen and gathered nearly 4,000 signatures from professors, alumni, and students. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on the petition and described Anya as a highly accomplished scholar and a force for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the field of linguistics.

Anya’s faculty biography remains available on the Carnegie Mellon website. It states that she is an associate professor of second language acquisition and a scholar of language learning and Black experiences in multilingualism. Her listed research areas include critical applied linguistics, critical sociolinguistics, and critical discourse studies, with attention to intersections of race, gender, sexual orientation, and social class with language learning. The biography notes her focus on the multilingual journeys of African American students and identity formation in new language contexts. It also records that she is married to a woman.

Carnegie Mellon receives federal funding and has collaborated with the Department of Defense and other agencies on research projects. The university’s September 12, 2026, statement indicated it is examining Anya’s recent activity. No final decision on further action has been announced.

The university’s tuition for undergraduate students is listed at approximately $70,000 per year before additional fees. Anya’s current leave status means she is not instructing students on campus for the academic year.

The posts about Kirk occurred one year after his assassination. Public records and contemporaneous reporting have not supplied additional verified details in the available coverage regarding the identity or political affiliation of the perpetrator. The university’s response to the 2026 posts came more rapidly than its 2022 handling of the earlier comments about the queen.

Anya’s statements have prompted discussion about the standards applied to faculty speech at private universities that receive public funds. The 2022 petition in her support cited academic freedom considerations, while critics pointed to the content of the remarks themselves. The current review by Carnegie Mellon remains ongoing as of the latest university statement.