News that Emmanuel Todd Lopez, the most famous emu on TikTok, is sick with a highly virulent avian flu hit the bird’s supporters almost as hard as the purportedly racist slur-filled tweets of his owner Taylor Blake that recently surfaced. Now, many on Twitter are calling to cancel her.

HI FRIENDS! THANKS FOR PRAYING FOR ME🫶🏻 I am absolutely dying to get back to pecking cameras once I’m all healed! xoxo, ETL pic.twitter.com/lDa94kUQFK

— eco sister (@hiitaylorblake) October 17, 2022

Emmanuel is ill with a flu virus that has infected many other birds at the farm where he lives. Posts and videos from his owner, Taylor Blake, showed the emu recuperating in physical therapy and receiving care.

EMMANUEL JUST DRANK WATER BY HIMSELF FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE BECOMING ILL😭🥹 Please keep the prayers coming! pic.twitter.com/nieSFKtkFB

— eco sister (@hiitaylorblake) October 16, 2022

One picture in particular, which showed Blake cuddling and appearing to kiss the sick Emmanuel, generated controversy from epidemiologists. They argued that being so close to a bird with the flu is dangerous since animal flu viruses can often jump to humans (like coronavirus did). But it wasn’t just public health Twitter that was bothered by Blake’s posting.

I am as captivated by Emmanuel the Emu as many on the on the internet & hope it recovers, but being face to face with a bird w avian flu is a bad idea – this is how zoonotic transmissions occur, this is why entire farms cull sick birds.
We live with the threat of pandemic flu. https://t.co/Orpz8Gu2mu

— BK Titanji #IAmAScientist🇨🇲 (@Boghuma) October 16, 2022

If your emu (or any bird) has avian influenza, do not kiss it. Do not cuddle with it. Do not touch it. Bird flu is extremely dangerous to humans and other animals. And it sounds harsh but to prevent it’s spread, birds that get avian flu should be euthanized.

— Dr. Angela Rasmussen (@angie_rasmussen) October 16, 2022

Old tweets from 2012 and 2015, in which Blake purportedly used the N-word and argued with people online about race, were originally rediscovered in May 2020, leading to the composition of many long threads in recent days criticizing her.

I find it HILARIOUS that in one day Black and Native Twitter have pulled up old racist tweets that Emmanuel Emu gal posted and NOW Public Health Twitter digging in her ass over potentially spreading avian flu to other humans. What a DAY https://t.co/2rSmMRbpKH

— Gabrielle Perry, MPH (@GeauxGabrielle) October 17, 2022

weird as fuck pic.twitter.com/O0N3MlWM89

— Micah (@micahhomgg) July 20, 2022

Finding out the emu lady is racist and going to be patient zero in the next pandemic isn’t a great way to start the week.

— Owen but spooky 🎃👻🦇 (he/him) (@OwenWGreen) October 17, 2022

let the tweets just speak for themselves pic.twitter.com/PwV38Rphlf

— likkle miss big🇯🇲 (@RihIsJamaican) May 9, 2020

can’t believe some of y’all weren’t on twitter for the era of the first tweet pic.twitter.com/jsScl18hA1

— Micah (@micahhomgg) July 20, 2022

Posters also recalled Blake’s long career on the outskirts of internet fame. Before her emu-posting era, she did characters including a Karen impression. She was also a contestant on a YouTuber reality show called Reality House in 2019, where she seemed to annoy many by speaking loudly.

Karen goes Live on Facebook to discuss racism, @LilNasX and Wrangler Jeans pic.twitter.com/xHq80Fo7SL

— eco sister (@hiitaylorblake) June 28, 2019

you mean that racist white girl rebranded as an EMU FARMER???? pic.twitter.com/EHAdI2EttK

— j (@gucciandior) October 17, 2022

Revelations about Blake’s career and alleged conduct online led many to reconsider their previous adoration for Emmanuel the Emu and his owner.

Knowing what we know about emu lady’s past attempts at internet fame, I’m worried that she didn’t appropriately report the HPAI outbreak. Idk if it’s too cynical, but if she loses Emmanuel she loses her audience.

— Sophianeⵣ is Team Hoary🦇🦇 (@HonkIfUrHoary) October 17, 2022

I feel duped by the racist lesbian emu lady. I'm still rooting for ol' Emmanuel Todd Lopez though.

— Jessica Malone Grider (@mrs_g_rider) October 17, 2022

you mean that racist white girl rebranded as an EMU FARMER???? pic.twitter.com/EHAdI2EttK

— j (@gucciandior) October 17, 2022

The scandal seemed to follow a classic internet pattern — an original post beloved by many inspires a backlash, which then inspires more interest and therefore more backlash in a neverending cycle. Like Brother Nature before her, Emmanuel the Emu’s owner has learned that controversy is a part of everything and the past is never past online.