Queen Elizabeth II passed away at the age of 96 on Thursday (September 8).
The Royal Family announced the queen “died peacefully” at Balmoral Castle, her estate in the Scottish Highlands. World leaders mourned her death, but many Twitter users were celebrating the end of the British monarch’s 70-year reign.
Countless jokes, memes and reflections on colonialism flooded Twitter in response to Queen Elizabeth’s death.
Former MLB star Reggie Jackson was among the notable names who joked about Queen Elizabeth’s death. He referenced his memorable cameo in the movie The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! In the film, Jackson gets hypnotized as part of a plot to kill the queen.
“Now we all know I was innocent!” Jackson wrote following Queen Elizabeth’s death. “Amen! RIP Queen E!”
Amid all the Twitter jokes, Nicki Minaj paid her respects to the queen. The Republic Records rapper briefly stopped promoting the “Queen Mix” of her single “Super Freaky Girl” to do so.
“RIP, QUEEN,” Nicki Minaj wrote.
But Nicki Minaj’s politeness was nothing compared to the criticism and mockery on social media.
Check out some of the reactions to Queen Elizabeth’s death below.
The matriarch of a royal family legacy of slave-trading, imperialism, colonialism, theft, symbol of opulence and mascot for the ruling class is dead
— Boots Riley (@BootsRiley) September 8, 2022
the media will now parade the queen's zombie ass in front of u while telling u that overthrowing capitalism is not what we need
she ain’t seein this I’ll tell you that much pic.twitter.com/dwJKMHGA36
— Zack Fox (@zackfox) September 8, 2022
i like to think that when she passed, she spontaneously absorbed into the ground and all that was left was pic.twitter.com/9V5uZh3HJf
— CHIKA 🧚🏾♂️ (@oranicuhh) September 8, 2022
— fly anakin (@flyanakin) September 8, 2022
face card declined. she was never that girl https://t.co/gGGs1Rrb2f
— dij (@DijahSB) September 8, 2022
Hell hasn’t had a five star prospect like this since hitler died
— Kaba Ké 🇬🇳 (@_PrinceMohamed) September 8, 2022
Irish twitter right now. pic.twitter.com/BzE52SirCn
— 🦋Fíbí🦋 (@Mudatimes7) September 8, 2022
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.
— Uju Anya (@UjuAnya) September 8, 2022
RIP BOZO https://t.co/SZM34d6pCk pic.twitter.com/S710fXV1lG
— Le Weaboo (@leweaboo) September 8, 2022