Alaina Kunes, a University of Mississippi student filmed making monkey noises and beating her chest outside an apartment occupied by Black students, has withdrawn from the university following widespread backlash over the incident.
Kunes was one of three white female students captured on a Ring security camera behaving in the manner outside the apartment building.
According to TMZ, she left the university amid mounting criticism and harassment from fellow students and members of the local community.
The footage was shared online by Jakiyra Metcalf, a student at Ole Miss, on Saturday.
She posted the video with the caption: “What do we have to say about this?”
Metcalf later explained in the comments that the incident happened outside her apartment, adding that she subsequently discovered the three women were her upstairs neighbours.
Although the apartment complex is located off campus, the university confirmed that it leases student accommodation at the property.
Kunes Says She Did Not Know Who Lived in the Apartment
Kunes, who was the first woman seen walking past the camera, has apologised for her behaviour but maintained that she did not know the identities or racial backgrounds of the apartment’s occupants.
In a statement to Action News 5, she said she would never deliberately direct such noises or gestures towards a person of colour.
“I would have never intentionally made those noises or gestures toward a person of color,” Kunes said.
She added that she had apologised to the women involved and hoped they would eventually forgive her.
“I can never truly understand the pain I have caused them and it was never my intention,” she continued.
Kunes also said the women deserved to feel acknowledged and understood, insisting that her actions did not represent the person she was trying to become.
She pledged to cooperate with the university’s investigation and acknowledged the seriousness of the situation, describing the incident as an embarrassing ordeal from which she was learning.
University Confirms Student’s Departure
The University of Mississippi confirmed to Action News 5 that Kunes was no longer enrolled at the institution.
However, it remains unclear whether she voluntarily withdrew or was removed from the university.
The institution had previously condemned the behaviour captured in the footage, describing it as “deeply troubling, hurtful, and unacceptable.”
Shawnboda Mead, the university’s Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, addressed the incident in a statement to the campus community.
“We condemn the behavior as it does not reflect our university’s values or the kind of community we strive to be every day,” Mead said.
The other two women featured in the recording have not been publicly identified, although their identities have been widely speculated about online.
Roommate Describes Previous Complaints About Noise
Bethany Joyy, one of the women living in the apartment, provided further details about the incident in a Facebook post.
According to Joyy, she and her roommates had previously spoken to the upstairs neighbours about excessive noise coming from their apartment.
She said the women initially apologised but allegedly resumed stomping after the downstairs residents returned to their apartment.
Joyy recalled that she was sitting on the couch when the incident captured by the Ring camera occurred, while her roommate and best friend were in another room.
She said they could hear the women making the noises from inside their apartment.
Residents Say Women Claimed They Were ‘Stimming’
Joyy said the residents later confronted the women after reviewing the security footage and asked whether they had made the noises.
The roommates reportedly described the behaviour as disrespectful, but Joyy claimed the monkey noises continued during the confrontation.
She said the first and third women seen in the footage eventually came to apologise later that night, after the video had already been uploaded online.
According to Joyy, the women claimed they had been “stimming” and making animal noises in front of people’s Ring cameras.
She also questioned the explanation, pointing out that another security camera across the hallway had not been disturbed.
Joyy further alleged that one of the first questions raised after the apology was whether the footage would be deleted.
Roommates Say They Only Want to Feel Safe at Home
Despite the controversy, Joyy said she and her roommates had not intended to encourage online harassment or attacks against the women involved.
She explained that they had previously interacted with their neighbours without hostility and had simply wanted to address the behaviour and feel comfortable in their own home.
“We did not make this post to have anyone bashed, nor harassed.
We just deserve to feel safe in our home, just as much as anyone else does,” she wrote.
Joyy added that the roommates had consistently tried to maintain respectful relationships with their neighbours.
She confirmed that they reported the incident to their property manager and university officials.
