A University of Mississippi student caught on video making racist sounds and hand gestures outside of an apartment occupied by three Black students says she is “committed to taking responsibility” for her actions.
Alaina Kunes, 18, issued a statement through a family attorney Tuesday amid reports that she’s withdrawn from school after the online criticism she and another student have received in recent days.
“To the women I offended and to the Ole Miss community, I sincerely apologize,” she said in the statement, per CBS affiliate WREG-TV. “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 never truly understand the pain I have caused them and what I did is not a reflection of who I am trying to become.”
Kunes went on to thank local authorities for their help after she and her family “received death threats and harassment” following the incident.
“As I intend to cooperate fully with the University’s investigation, I ask for privacy for my family,” she added. “I understand the seriousness of the situation and remain committed to taking responsibility and learning from this embarrassing ordeal.”
Watch footage of the incident via ABC11 below.
The Nov. 6 video, captured via a doorbell camera, shows Kunes and another white woman ― whose name has not been publicly confirmed ― seemingly imitating a monkey or an ape in front of an apartment occupied by freshmen students Jakiyra Metcalf, Kaiyden Caldwell and Victoria Johnson, who are Black. They are accompanied by a third woman who does not stop at the door.
The clip quickly went viral on TikTok and has been viewed more than 12 million times as of Wednesday. Over the weekend, University of Mississippi’s Vice Chancellor Shawnboda Mead issued a statement addressing the “deeply troubling” footage, calling the white students’ actions “hurtful” and “unacceptable.”
“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. “While student privacy laws limit what we can share about individual students, including any potential disciplinary action, please know that this matter is being taken seriously.”
Metcalf, Caldwell and Johnson appeared on “CBS Mornings” Wednesday, and in the interview, Metcalf confirmed she and Johnson later confronted Kunes and the other woman seen in the video.
Kunes apologized, but the other woman did not, they said.
“I appreciate the apology, but I feel like it still doesn’t change what happened on that Friday,” Caldwell said. “It’s still hurtful and it’s still devastating that someone would come to our camera and do that.”