Ole Miss Student Kunes Apologizes, Withdraws After Racist Video

What the Ring camera caught

On the night of Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, Jakiyra Metcalf was inside the off-campus apartment she shares with two other Black students near the University of Mississippi in Oxford. Outlets differ slightly on the exact time: TheGrio and the Emerald Book put it at approximately 8:37 p.m., while SuperTalk Mississippi Media described it as "around 8:30 p.m." Either way, Metcalf's Ring doorbell camera recorded three white women walking past her front door.

Two of the women turned toward the camera. One beat her chest while making monkey noises; a second moved closer to the lens and mimicked the sounds. A third woman walked past without taking part, according to footage described by TheGrio, People.com and CBS News.

Metcalf and her roommate Victoria Johnson said they went outside right after seeing the clip. Johnson told CBS News that one of the women apologized on the spot, saying, "I'm sorry we did that to four doors," and adding, "We didn't mean any harm." Johnson said the second woman reacted differently, continuing the gestures while the first one was apologizing. "It was like a slap in the face," Johnson told CBS News.

Metcalf posted the 13-second clip to TikTok that Friday, tagging the university and writing, "What do we have to say about this??" according to SuperTalk Mississippi Media. By the time People.com reported on the fallout, the post had drawn more than 11 million views and nearly 1 million likes. The clip also spread to Instagram and Facebook within hours, per the Emerald Book.

Metcalf later told followers in the comments that the women were not strangers. "We just found out they are our upstairs neighbors," she wrote, per TheGrio.

Who's involved

Jakiyra Metcalf is an Ole Miss freshman who lives in the apartment with roommates Victoria Johnson and Kaiyden Caldwell, all of whom are Black. All three told CBS News they plan to stay enrolled at the university.

Alaina Kunes, 18, is the woman Metcalf and Johnson identified as the one who apologized at the door, according to CBS News and NBC News. (CBS News spelled her first name "Aliana"; NBC News and the Emerald Book spelled it "Alaina.") She has not been charged with any crime. On Tuesday, Nov. 10, she issued a public apology and voluntarily withdrew from the university, according to a source close to her cited by NBC News.

The second woman seen making gestures in the video has not been identified publicly and has not commented, according to both NBC News and CBS News. The third woman, who walked past without participating, also has not been identified.

Names of other students circulated widely on social media after the video went viral. Ole Miss Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Shawnboda Mead said at least one student had been incorrectly identified online, and the Alpha Phi sorority stated that the women in the video had "never been affiliated with our organization" and that social media users had "confused them with members who have similar names," per People.com.

Also drawn into the story: Tasha Bolton, who said on Facebook that her daughter lives in the apartment with Metcalf and another roommate, and Chiquita Laó, Victoria Johnson's mother. Demetrick M. Stringer Jr., executive president of the university's Black Student Union, also issued a public statement.

"It was like a slap in the face," — Victoria Johnson, Ole Miss student and roommate of Jakiyra Metcalf, to CBS News.

Where this stands with the university

No criminal charges have been filed over the video. This is moving through the University of Mississippi's internal conduct process, not a courtroom.

The university emailed students about an investigation on Sunday, Nov. 8, according to NBC News. Two offices are handling the review, the school said: the Office of Conflict Resolution and Student Conduct and the Office of Equal Opportunity and Regulatory Compliance. In a statement Monday, Nov. 9, the school called the conduct "offensive, hurtful and unacceptable" and said it was "actively being investigated by the appropriate university offices and processes," per People.com.

Mead, in a letter to students, wrote that the behavior "does not reflect our university's values" and added, "We care about your well-being, and we are committed to supporting you. Every student deserves to feel safe, respected, and valued at the University of Mississippi," according to SuperTalk Mississippi Media.

The university has repeatedly cited the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA, which it said bars it from disclosing "student conduct cases, records, and any potential disciplinary action" tied to specific students, per People.com. That means any outcome for the second, unidentified woman, or any formal discipline weighed against Kunes before she withdrew, may never become public.

Kunes's withdrawal was voluntary, not an expulsion ordered by the school. By leaving on her own, she ended the university's ability to discipline her academically, though the broader conduct investigation continues. In a Wednesday, Nov. 11 statement, the university said it had "met with the impacted students and their families to offer support and discuss the relevant processes, and the investigation is moving forward," per CBS News.

What Kunes said — and what the roommates say happened

Kunes's apology, posted publicly Tuesday and reported by CBS News, read in full: "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."

Metcalf said she has mixed feelings about that apology. "I feel like no matter like who we are, or if she knew our race or not, but the gestures and the voices, I feel like it still was very disrespectful," she told CBS News.

Caldwell, the third roommate, said the apology doesn't erase what happened. "I appreciate the apology, but I feel like it still doesn't change what happened on that Friday, because it's still hurtful and it's still devastating that someone would come to our camera and do that," she told CBS News.

Johnson's mother, Chiquita Laó, said she was surprised to learn that Kunes had cited being harassed after she withdrew. "I hate to hear that because you know the children are the future, but I feel like everybody needs to be accountable," she told CBS News.

Tasha Bolton pressed the university for specifics in a Facebook post cited by People.com: "The video has been shared with university administration, and we want answers. Specifically, what steps will be taken to address this behavior and ensure accountability?" She added, "This is absolutely disgusting and unacceptable. College is supposed to be a place where young adults can learn, grow, and feel safe."

A pattern the students say they recognize

Metcalf, Johnson and Caldwell told CBS News they were aware of Ole Miss's history with race before any of this happened. The university did not admit its first Black student, James Meredith, until 1962, amid violent resistance to integration.

They also pointed to a more recent case: in May 2024, a white Ole Miss student was filmed making monkey noises and gestures at a Black graduate student, Jaylin Smith, during a campus demonstration over the war in Gaza. His fraternity, Phi Delta Theta, expelled him, and the university opened a student conduct investigation, according to TheGrio.

Demetrick M. Stringer Jr., executive president of the university's Black Student Union, addressed the new incident in a statement posted to Instagram and reported by People.com: "Comparisons of this kind carry a long and painful history, and directing them at a student where she lives has left her, and many of our members, feeling unwelcome and unsafe." He asked that any students found responsible "receive disciplinary measures consistent with the M Book" and "proportionate to the very serious nature of race-based harassment."

Johnson said she hopes the moment pushes people to speak up rather than stay quiet. "I want people to be mindful of their actions now," she told CBS News. "So when people who would potentially experience the same situations to speak out and don't let things be swept under the rug, because this is a reality for us, and I feel like voices need to be heard."

What happens next

There is no court date because no criminal case has been opened. Ole Miss's Office of Conflict Resolution and Student Conduct and its Office of Equal Opportunity and Regulatory Compliance are continuing to investigate; the university has said FERPA bars it from disclosing the outcome for any specific student, including whether the still-unidentified second woman faces discipline. Kunes has already withdrawn, which ends the university's leverage over her academically. Metcalf, Johnson and Caldwell have said they intend to remain enrolled.