Nylah Burton, a freelance journalist, was blasted online after she suggested that British Monarch should have died instead of actress Betty White. Following the backlash, Burton deleted her tweet, not before it went viral.
Legendry actress and comedian White died at her home on Friday, December 31 morning, just weeks before she was to turn 100. According to reports, the actress died of natural causes.
Burton Also Works as a Sexual Assault Prevention Specialist
The Chicago based journalist initially tweeted, "BETTY WHITE IS DEAD!?! Why couldn't it have been Queen Elizabeth?"
Despite the backlash, Burton said that the universe took the wrong old white lady in a separate tweet made on Friday evening. "Why not Queen Elizabeth?? The universe took the wrong old white lady smdh," Burton wrote in response to a user's criticism.
The Sun reported that Burton has written for a number of outlets including HuffPost, Business Insider and Yahoo.
Claiming that Burton tends to focus on issues of social justice and identity politics in her articles, the outlet reported that she had written an article titled, "What We Lose When We Focus On Whiteness in Interracial Relationships," for Refinery29.
Elite Daily describes Burton as someone who likes to write mediocre poetry and marathon 2000s-era teen dramas on Netflix during her spare time. The outlet stated that Burton is a Lifestyle Writer at Bustle, where she covers topics related to mental health, health, social justice, and identity.
Burton who Caribbean literature at Howard University, also works as a sexual assault prevention specialist, where she facilitates community discussions that attempt to dismantle rape culture, according to the outlet.
Social Media Slams Burton
Burton's insensitive tweets invited a lot of wrath from other social media users, who even demanded that she would be fired from her job.
"Delete this, you disgusting piece of work," tweeted Piers Morgan.
Just snuck in as the most vile and offensive Tweet of 2021. Nylah @yumcoconutmilk with a Tweet of pure nastiness and hate. You have to feel sorry for these people and their supporters that think such Tweets are acceptable. Again the mental illness and hate of leftism strikes" tweeted Leigh Keystone.
Several users also demanded that Burton be removed from her position at Bustle. "@bustle How about starting the year off right and cutting all ties with the racist Nylah Burton. Not only did she wish death upon a woman, she had to bring the colour of her skin in to it. Are you going to remove her from your site, or do you agree with her views?" tweeted a user.
"No one else reacted the way Nylah Burton of Bustle reacted. Nylah Burton is a sexual assault prevention specialist? No one that cruel should be in a position as sensitive as that," opined another user.
