‘Down with n*****s, white power’: Inside the racist Queen Mary Uni group chat

A student in the chat told The Tab: ‘It was just boys being boys’


TW: racism 

A series of screenshots from a group chat belonging to Queen Mary, University of London students emerged on Twitter last week, to reveal a number of racist comments.

Messages shown in the leaked screenshots include repeated use of the n-word as well as other explicit racist comments. These racist messages included “down with the n*****s,” “f*cking hate black n*****s,” and “white power”.

A Queen Mary, University of London spokesperson said an investigation into the incident is ongoing and they “do not, and will not, tolerate racism in any form.”

The Tab is revealing these messages to expose the issue of racism at Queen Mary.

The London Tab spoke to two students who were involved and appeared to send racist slurs in the group chat. Imran, who explicitly asked to be named, said: “I categorically deny any wrongdoing, but I do accept being a part of the group chat.

“From my perspective, the group chat was just boys being boys, misogyny and sexism rife, but obviously it was just some fun locker room talk.”

Imran continued: “I am the most affected. While I don’t apologise for my behaviour, I apologise to whoever was a snowflake and became offended over ‘boys being boys.’

“I don’t regret a single thing because of the backlash and libelous accusations that have been pinned on my character. QMUL have threatened to expel me and only reverted their actions when I threatened back with a lawsuit and a top five lawyer in the city of London. I just want to be left in peace.”

Meanwhile, Nissa, another Queen Mary student in the chat and who also explicitly asked to be named, denies ever sending the racist comments shown beside her name in the screenshots.

She told The London Tab: “I have seen the screenshots and it’s honestly shocking to me how people will believe anything they see. There are always two sides to a story, and sometimes things aren’t what they seem.

“I was involved with the group chat because I was curious to get to know people that are South Asian since I’m South Asian myself. But then the racial abuse began, and I was obviously shocked alongside everyone else.”

Nissa claims that another member of the group chat, who allegedly harassed her and had a “reputation” for taking people’s phones, took her phone and sent the racist slurs. Nissa also provided evidence of messages she “would consider sexual harassment” from the person in question and other group chat members supporting her claim of her phone being taken.

Nissa said: “I left the group chat because I was embarrassed that everyone’s going to think I’ve said that, and I don’t want to be associated with people who say these things. But they knew it wasn’t me who said those. They saw him take my phone.

“I don’t owe anyone an explanation as long as I know, I haven’t said anything wrong. I haven’t been racist. I don’t support racism.”

Nissa told The Tab the university has asked her for an interview about her involvement in the group chat, where she says she will speak her “truth”. She said: “I don’t owe anyone anything. I don’t have loyalty to these people.”

Imran claims to have been “framed and blackmailed” by someone who was also a member of the chat. Imran claims this person “spun the situation and coerced multiple people in the group chat to engage in disgusting racism and xenophobic rhetoric.”

Imran also alleges that “information and evidence” of these “racist and homophobic” comments have been passed along to Queen Mary, but he claims the individual “is going to be kept in the top honours programme”.

Another Queen Mary student, who claims they saw the racist messages in the chat, alleged to The London Tab they saw someone send slurs from Nissa’s phone and “then deleted them from her side so she couldn’t delete it permanently”. They claim the leaked screenshots “aren’t even the worst of it”.

They said: “I have more horrific, graphic screenshots of them saying that they want to inflict maximum pain on ‘n*****s’ with a butter knife, insinuating that they rape kids, and many more racist speeches.”

The Queen Mary Students’ Union said: “We are aware of the incident and it has been escalated with management. QMUL offers a Report & Support service where you can report & discuss possible actions following incidents. We would encourage you to use the service which can be found here.”

In response, a Queen Mary, University of London spokesperson said: “We do not, and will not, tolerate racism in any form. We are in the process of investigating this serious issue.

“Any student or staff member is urged to use our Report and Support online tool to report, anonymously if preferred, any issues they encounter. Any students affected by this incident are advised to contact welfare services.”

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