Identified Woman Apologizes, Quits Ole Miss After Racist Video

The night the Ring camera caught it

It happened on a Friday night, Nov. 6, outside a student apartment near the University of Mississippi campus in Oxford. Jakiyra Metcalf, an 18-year-old Ole Miss freshman, was inside when her Ring doorbell camera picked up two women walking past her door. The footage shows them turning toward the camera, beating their chests and making monkey noises — a 13-second clip Metcalf later posted to TikTok.

Metcalf and her roommate Victoria G. Johnson went outside right away to ask what was going on. One of the two women — later identified publicly as Alaina Kunes — apologized on the spot, telling the students she and her companions had done the same thing "to like four doors," according to Johnson. Metcalf and Johnson say they hadn't seen any other door targeted; theirs was the one hit.

The students say the second woman did not stop. According to Johnson, she kept making the gestures even while Kunes was apologizing. A third woman nearby was seen in the footage only glancing toward the door, according to ABC News.

The clip spread fast. People reported more than 12 million TikTok views by midweek; ABC News put the figure above 13 million within four days. On Tuesday, Nov. 10, Kunes issued a public statement — through a law firm — identifying herself as one of the women in the video, apologizing, and announcing she had withdrawn from the university.

Who's involved

Jakiyra Metcalf, Kaiyden Caldwell and Victoria G. Johnson are freshman roommates at Ole Miss, studying psychology, nursing and radiology, respectively. All three grew up in Mississippi and say they had never personally experienced anything like what happened at their door.

Victoria Johnson's mother, Chiquita Lao, joined her daughter for the CBS Mornings interview and said she had mixed feelings about how the aftermath has unfolded.

Alaina Kunes, 18, is the only person who has been publicly identified. She said in her statement that she had never met the three students before Nov. 6 and did not know their race. She has since withdrawn from the university and said she would cooperate with any investigation.

The second woman seen making gestures on the video has not been identified publicly. CBS News said it reached out to her and did not hear back. The third woman glimpsed in the footage also has not been named.

Social media users circulated two other names — Lauren Mayfield and Sara Whitehead — as people allegedly involved. The Ole Miss chapter of Alpha Phi said those names belong to members who were wrongly swept into the confusion and condemned the behavior shown in the video.

"She continued to make the gestures after the girl was apologizing. It was like a slap in the face." — Victoria G. Johnson, Ole Miss freshman and roommate of Jakiyra Metcalf

What the university's investigation covers — and doesn't

No criminal charges have been filed against anyone over the video. So far, this is a campus disciplinary matter, not a court case.

Ole Miss says the incident is being investigated through its Office of Conflict Resolution and Student Conduct. University officials told CBS News they have met with the three students and their families to discuss the process and offer support.

Federal student-privacy law — FERPA — bars the university from discussing any individual student's discipline, including whether any sanction is being considered against the second woman or the third woman seen in the footage.

Kunes's withdrawal from the university was voluntary. It is not an expulsion and not a legal penalty; it removes her from the student-conduct process but carries no finding of wrongdoing on the record.

As of this week, Ole Miss has not announced any finding, any sanction, or the identity of the second woman.

The fundraiser, the mistaken names and the backlash

Kunes says she has faced ongoing harassment since coming forward. Her statement was first posted to her law firm's website but had to be taken down because of it, spokesperson Kate Gardiner told ABC News. Kunes will not comment beyond the written statement, Gardiner said.

A separate online fundraiser has formed to support the unidentified second woman. Influencer Tom Hennessey — who has a history of starting campaigns for people criticized over racially charged incidents — launched a page on the Christian fundraising site GiveSendGo. It had raised more than $30,000 by Wednesday, Nov. 11, according to ABC News.

The fundraiser's page describes an "online mob" that is "treating a juvenile stunt as a hate crime because the residents were Black," and says it could be shut down if the woman it supports "disavows" the backing and apologizes. Hennessey told ABC News he believes there is a double standard around which racially charged incidents draw national attention; he declined to say whether he has been in contact with the student.

The case also revived discussion of a similar episode at Ole Miss in May 2024, when a counterprotester was filmed making monkey gestures at a Black student during a campus demonstration. That video drew national attention, including a tweet from then-U.S. Rep. Mike Collins of Georgia that appeared to praise the behavior.

What each side has said

Kunes, in her written statement: "To the women I offended and to the Ole Miss community, I sincerely apologize. Before the incident on November 6, I never met the women involved and was unaware of their race, however, I recognize my actions were insensitive, inappropriate, and deeply harmful. I would have never intentionally made those noises or gestures toward a person of color. I have apologized to the women and I pray they will forgive me," she said, according to CBS News and People.

Johnson, on the second woman continuing the gestures: "She continued to make the gestures after the girl was apologizing. It was like a slap in the face," she told CBS Mornings.

Metcalf, on confronting the women: "We actually went outside and tried to approach them and get them to explain why they did that," she told CBS Mornings. She said she told the women the behavior was wrong "even if they did go to other people's doors and do that" — "I don't think they should because it's very disrespectful."

Caldwell, on whether the apology settles anything for her: "I appreciate the apology, but I feel like it still doesn't change what has happened on that Friday because it's still hurtful and it's still devastating that someone would come to our door and do that," she told People.

Lao, Johnson's mother, on Kunes's withdrawal: "As a human being, I hate to hear that because, you know, the children are our future. But I feel like everybody needs to be accountable," she said, according to People.

Ole Miss Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Shawnboda Mead, in a statement to campus: "The behavior depicted in this video is deeply troubling, hurtful, and unacceptable. We condemn the behavior as it does not reflect our university's values or the kind of community we strive to be every day," according to People.

What happens next

Ole Miss's student-conduct investigation remains open, with no announced timeline for a finding or any disciplinary decision, and FERPA means the outcome may never be made public. The second woman and the third woman seen in the footage remain unidentified, no criminal charges have been filed against anyone, and the GiveSendGo fundraiser for the unidentified woman remains active. The next concrete marker in this story is whichever comes first: the university closing its investigation, or the second woman being identified.