Queen Elizabeth II died Thursday at age 96, and her death led to an outpouring of tributes and social media messages that mourned her passing.
Her death also resulted in people posting what could be considered inappropriate, controversial, and even distasteful messages, memes, and videos on social media. Some of these messages went viral while simultaneously being condemned by other users of the platforms.
Buckingham Palace confirmed the queen's passing in an announcement at about 1:30 p.m. ET, 17 months after the death of her husband Prince Philip, on April 9, 2021. Leaders and famous admirers from around the world commemorated the beloved monarch who was praised for the stability she brought during the more than 70 years she spent on the throne.
But with the outpouring of grief also came many jokes that some found to be insensitive when considering the timing.
"Queen Elizabeth won't see your funny little tweets about her dying but Prince Andrew will if your profile pic looks young enough," wrote comedian/writer Nick Jack Pappas on Twitter.
Another Twitter user posted, "look it's pretty funny that the queen met [new Prime Minister] liz truss and is like nah I'm out."
"If you think the Queen's death and the raid on Mar a Lago are just a coincidence you are a f**king idiot," Tim Heidecker, one half of the popular comedic duo Tim & Eric, tweeted.
There was more than one post that referenced imagined scenarios of Queen Elizabeth II crossing paths with Princess Diana in the afterlife.
princess diana when she sees queen elizabeth ii in the afterlife pic.twitter.com/3y4nMD4Zp7
Another person posted a video of WWE superstar The Undertaker rising up from a casket after being seemingly dead to snatch fellow wrestler Randy Orton by the throat. The clip was captioned: "The Queen when Meghan Markle comes to say her goodbyes."
The Queen when Meghan Markle comes to say her goodbyes pic.twitter.com/KIH7Ns1oSS
Several people also referenced actor Lea Michele's recent Broadway debut in Funny Girl when posting about the monarch.
Queen Elizabeth never got to see Lea Michele in Funny Girl pic.twitter.com/WtfqJKAPrh
Many other tweets referenced the ongoing drama surrounding Olivia Wilde's upcoming film Don't Worry Darling.
"I can't believe olivia wilde killed the queen to save the don't worry darling press tour," read one such tweet.
The backlash to the people posting disrespectful tweets about the queen's passing was perhaps greater than the jokes and angry messages regarding colonialism.
"If you think that mocking the passing of Queen Elizabeth II is funny, whether you do it online using an anonymous user or not, you seriously have to reconsider your view of the world, because this isn't it, chief. Learn to have some respect or shut your mouth," wrote one person on Twitter.
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