OLE MISS STUDENT WITHDRAWS AFTER VIRAL DOORBELL VIDEO

Alaina Kunes, an 18-year-old Ole Miss student seen making monkey gestures on a viral doorbell-camera video outside a Black students’ apartment, has voluntarily withdrawn from the university.

Sources close to Kunes told TMZ she left the school following harassment from the community and other students, and she was not suspended or expelled. Withdrawing, unlike dropping out, could leave the door open for her to return next semester.

The November 6, 2026, footage showed Kunes and another woman stepping toward a Ring camera, beating their chests and grunting, while a third woman stood behind them. The off-campus apartment was home to three Black Ole Miss students.

A woman identifying herself as a mother of one of the residents shared the video online the following day, according to KIII-TV.

In a statement released through her attorneys, Kunes said she did not know the race of the people who lived there. “I would have never intentionally made those noises or gestures toward a person of color,” she said, adding that she had apologized directly to the residents.

Kunes also stated she intended to cooperate fully with the university’s investigation, and said she and her family had received death threats since the footage spread. Her attorney’s statement noted that her father, Scott, had been the former COO of Wisconsin-based Kunes Auto Group and left the role in February, according to WISN.

TMZ reported a separate racial controversy involving the family business, noting a Wisconsin woman alleged a worker at a Kunes Buick GMC dealership put a sticker with a racial slur on her windshield.

The university’s Office of Conflict Resolution and Student Conduct and Office of Equal Opportunity and Regulatory Compliance were investigating the incident. Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Shawnboda Mead condemned the apartment video and said the school had contacted the affected students to offer support and resources, NBC News reported.