Women are reportedly upstairs neighbors of three Black students, including one who uploaded video to TikTok
Two white students at the University of Mississippi were captured making offensive monkey gestures in a widely panned Ring video that has prompted a school investigation.
On Saturday, freshman Jakiyra Metcalf uploaded the surveillance clip from her apartment door to TikTok, showing one woman thumping her chest and babbling like a monkey. Another woman jumped into the camera’s view and mimicked the monkey noises.
The video, which has nearly 13m views, drew outrage over the racist connotation.
“This is absolutely disgusting and unacceptable. College is supposed to be a place where young adults can learn, grow, and feel safe,” Metcalf’s mother, Tasha Bolton, wrote Saturday on Facebook. According to Bolton, her daughter lives with two Black roommates and the women seen in the video are her upstairs neighbors.
The family is not yet speaking publicly about the ordeal, said Bolton’s husband, Brooks Bolton.
Alaina Kunes, 18, who was in the video, issued an apology in a statement released by a Chicago law firm, while insisting her behavior was not related to race.
“I would have never intentionally made those noises or gestures toward a person of color,” Kunes said. “I have apologized to the women, and I pray they will forgive me.”
