Black Ole Miss Students Speak Out After Catching White Students Making Racist Gestures And Noises On Doorbell Cam

An ordinary Friday night took a disturbing turn for three Black Ole Miss freshmen when their doorbell camera captured two white students beating their chests and making ape-like noises outside their apartment.

Nearly a week after the November 6 incident, the students are speaking out about the racist behavior—and the confrontation that followed.

Their Ring camera captured the encounter that has since drawn national attention:

Confronting the women did little to ease the situation. One apologized, but another allegedly continued making racist gestures even as the students demanded an explanation.

Victoria G. Johnson recalled the particularly painful exchange during an interview with CBS Mornings:

“She continued to make the gestures after the girl was apologizing. It was like a slap in the face.”

The experience was particularly jarring for Johnson, a radiology student who had never personally encountered anything similar. She shares the off-campus apartment with two other Mississippi natives and Ole Miss freshmen—Kaiyden Caldwell, a nursing student, and Jakiyra Metcalf, 18, who studies psychology.

Metcalf discovered the footage on their Ring camera and later uploaded it to TikTok, bringing the encounter to a much wider audience. But before the video went viral, she and Johnson had already confronted the women, hoping to understand why they behaved that way.

Johnson recalled the explanation one woman offered when they confronted her:

“I’m sorry, we’ve did that to like, four doors.”

The woman's explanation did little to quiet the controversy. By Monday, the footage had attracted more than 12 million views, and Ole Miss was facing questions about how it would address the conduct of its students.

Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Shawnboda Mead made the university's position clear:

“Every student deserves to feel safe, respected, and valued at the University of Mississippi. Racism and actions that disparage people because of an aspect of their identity have no place in our campus community.”

The university's condemnation addressed the behavior, but for the students who experienced it firsthand, the issue extended beyond whether the women knew who lived behind the door. Metcalf said the gestures themselves were disrespectful, regardless of whom they were directed toward.

Metcalf explained why the women's intentions didn't change how she viewed the incident:

“I feel like no matter who we are or if she knew our race or not, but the gestures and the noises, I feel like it’s still very disrespectful. I just have mixed feelings about it.”

One of the women at the center of the doorbell controversy has since come forward. Alaina Kunes, 18, a Wisconsin native and Ole Miss student, was among the two women making the racist gestures. A second woman also participated, while a third appeared in the footage without joining in.

Kunes later claimed she had never met the students and was unaware of their race before the incident:

“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.”

Kunes also said she had apologized directly to the students, asked for their forgiveness, and intended to cooperate with the university's investigation. She has since reportedly withdrawn from Ole Miss, citing safety concerns and harassment.

Her full public apology was shared on November 10:

Whether Kunes' apology reflected genuine remorse or an attempt to move past the controversy remains unclear. For the students, however, her words couldn't undo the behavior they had witnessed.

For Caldwell, the apology mattered, but it couldn't undo the hurt caused by the encounter:

“I appreciate the apology, but I feel like it still doesn’t change what has happened on that Friday because it’s still hurtful and it’s still devastating that someone would come to our door and do that.”

The three students shared more about the encounter and its aftermath during their full interview with Jericka Duncan:

- YouTube CBS Mornings

While the original video sparked widespread attention, the students' interview gave the public a fuller account of the encounter and its emotional impact. Their reactions to Kunes' apology also brought the question of accountability into sharper focus.

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Two years before three Black Ole Miss freshmen confronted racist gestures outside their apartment, another Black woman experienced similar behavior on the same campus.

During a May 2024 pro-Palestinian demonstration, a white student made ape-like gestures toward a Black graduate student. Phi Delta Theta later expelled him from the fraternity.

The 2024 confrontation was documented in footage from the demonstration:

The incidents stand in sharp contrast to another development in Mississippi this week. On Wednesday, Democrat Scott Colom defeated Republican U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, becoming the first Black U.S. senator elected by Mississippi voters.

For a state whose history includes fierce resistance to Black political participation, Colom's victory represents a significant milestone. But the experiences of four Black women at Ole Miss reveal another side of Mississippi—one where historic progress at the ballot box has not eliminated racist behavior.