Key Takeaways
- The Ring camera footage has amassed over 13 million views on TikTok, with one woman reportedly continuing to make racist gestures while another apologized.
- Alaina Kunes has since withdrawn from the university, although the three Black roommates said her apology doesn't change what happened.
- During their interview, Victoria Johnson encouraged others who experience similar treatment to speak out rather than let it be swept under the rug.
The three Black Ole Miss students who captured a group of fellow students making monkey noises and racist gestures outside their apartment on Ring camera are speaking out for the first time since the footage went viral. On Wednesday (Nov. 11), Jakiyra Metcalf, Kaiyden Caldwell, and Victoria Johnson sat down with Jericka Duncan for “CBS Mornings,” where they described the incident as “hurtful" and "devastating.”
When asked how she felt after seeing the footage for the first time, Metcalf, whose TikTok post has amassed over 13 million views, responded, “Hurt.” She recalled being inside the apartment when it happened, then heading outside with her roommate Johnson to confront the women about their behavior. “One girl was apologizing. She was like, ‘I’m sorry. [We] did that to four doors,’” Johnson explained. “And mind you, we didn’t see anyone else’s door. It was just ours that was targeted.”
Duncan noted that Alaina Kunes, the first student shown in the Ring camera footage, apologized, although the second woman apparently doubled down off camera. Johnson went on to explain, “She continued to make the gestures after the girl was apologizing. It was like a slap in the face.” Watch their interview below, then keep scrolling to see what the Ole Miss freshmen had to say about Kunes’ apology.
University of Mississippi students react to Alaina Kunes’ apology and decision to withdraw from school
“No matter who we are or if she knew our race or not, but the gestures and the noises, I feel like it still was very disrespectful. I just have mixed feelings about it,” Metcalf said when asked about forgiving Kunes. Caldwell added, “I appreciate the apology, but I feel like it still doesn’t change what has happened on that Friday, 'cause it’s still hurtful and it's still devastating that someone would come to our door and do that.”
For anyone who missed it, Kunes claimed that she “never met the women involved and was unaware of their race” before the incident last Friday (Nov. 6). “I can never truly understand the pain I have caused them, and it was never my intention,” she continued. “These girls deserve to feel seen and understood, and what I did is not a reflection of who I am trying to become.” Amid the growing backlash, the freshman also withdrew from the University of Mississippi.
“As a human being, I hate to hear that [she withdrew] because the children are the future, but I feel like everybody needs to be held accountable,” Johnson’s mother, Chiquita Laó, shared.
Black Ole Miss students plan to continue their education despite racist incident
Looking ahead, Metcalf, Caldwell, and Johnson all plan to continue pursuing their psychology, nursing, and radiology majors at Ole Miss, which announced over the weekend that it was investigating the incident. When asked what they hope others take away from their devastating experience, Johnson emphasized, “I want people to be mindful of their actions, but I also want people who would potentially experience the same situations to speak out and don’t let things be swept under the rug because this is a reality for us, and I feel like voices need to be heard.”