Alaina Kunes, the University of Mississippi freshman caught on a Ring camera making monkey noises outside an apartment shared by three Black students, has issued a public apology, and her explanation is already drawing heat.
The statement was released on Tuesday, November 10, four days after the video was recorded, through her attorney, Thomas G. Gardiner of the firm Gardiner Koch Weisberg & Wrona. In it, Kunes also revealed that she and her family have received death threats since the video went viral. Here is her full 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. I can never truly understand the pain I have caused them and it was never my intention. These girls deserve to feel seen and understood and what I did is not a reflection of who I am trying to become.
“Over the past several days, my family and I have received death threats and harassment. I am grateful for the authorities working to ensure our safety. As I intend to cooperate fully with the University’s investigation, I ask for privacy for my family. I understand the seriousness of this situation and remain committed to taking responsibility and learning from this embarrassing ordeal.”
Her claim that she did not know the women’s race is a hard sell for a lot of people. The footage was recorded outside the apartment of Ole Miss student Jakiyra Metcalf, who lives with two other Black students. After the video spread, Metcalf said the women in it turned out to be their upstairs neighbors.
The Ring footage is timestamped 8:37 p.m. on Friday, November 6. It shows three white women walking up to the apartment door. One beats her chest and makes monkey noises at the camera. A second woman steps closer to the camera and repeats the sounds. The third keeps walking and does not appear to take part.
Metcalf posted the clip to TikTok with a simple caption asking what Ole Miss had to say about it. The video has since passed 12 million views, and it set off a wave of people trying to identify the women. That rush caused its own problems. Several names circulated online, and the Alpha Phi chapter at Ole Miss had to publicly deny that any of its members were involved, saying people had confused the women in the video with sorority members who have similar names.
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The university addressed that directly. In a statement released Sunday, November 8, Shawnboda Mead, the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, called the behavior in the video “deeply troubling, hurtful, and unacceptable” and said the incident is being actively investigated. Mead said university staff had reached out to the students directly affected to offer support. She also said one student had been wrongly identified as being involved and confirmed that no members of the campus sorority community took part.
Kunes’ attorney confirmed that she has ties to Kunes Auto Group, the Wisconsin based dealership chain. Once her name started trending, the company moved quickly to separate itself, saying the person in the video has no employment, ownership, or professional connection to the business.
The second woman who made the noises in the video has not been publicly identified and has not spoken out.
This is not the first time Ole Miss has been here. In May 2024, a white student was filmed making monkey noises and gestures at Jaylin Smith, a Black graduate student, during a campus protest against the war in Gaza. His fraternity, Phi Delta Theta, expelled him, and the university opened a student conduct investigation.
The University of Mississippi has since confirmed that Kunes is no longer a student at the school. The university did not say whether she withdrew or was removed. Its investigation into the incident is ongoing.
