Sophia Rosing, the former University of Kentucky student who became infamous after her racist attack on a Black student went viral, has pleaded guilty to several charges related to the incident.
Rosing, 23, faced the court on Monday, admitting to four counts of fourth-degree assault, one count of disorderly conduct, and one count of public intoxication. This comes nearly two years after she was captured on video physically assaulting Kylah Spring, a Black student working as a desk clerk at the time.
Rosing’s actions, which included spouting racial slurs and physically attacking Spring, quickly went viral after the footage circulated online. The video showed an intoxicated Rosing using racial slurs over 200 times within a 10-minute period and even assaulting a police officer who responded to the scene.
Following the incident, the University of Kentucky swiftly banned Rosing from campus, leading her to withdraw from the school. The fallout didn’t stop there—she was also fired from her job at Dillard’s and lost a social media influencer partnership with CollegeFashionista.
On Monday, after several docket passes and nearly 20 months of legal back-and-forth, Rosing’s guilty plea was entered immediately following a mediation session. Her attorney, Fred Peters, noted that the mediation was a chance for all involved to express their feelings and make apologies.
“Her life has been on hold for the past 18 to 20 months,” Peters said, adding that Rosing had written a letter of apology to Kylah Spring.
As part of her guilty plea, Rosing faces 12 months in jail, 100 hours of community service, and a $25 fine.
In December 2022, Kylah Spring appeared on CBS Mornings, reflecting on how the experience opened her eyes to the pervasive nature of racism in America.
“You never really know how common of an occurrence it is until it happens to you,” Spring said, emphasizing the importance of confronting racism head-on.
Rosing’s sentencing is set for October.
