A disturbing video from the University of Mississippi has sparked widespread outrage after three white female students were caught on a doorbell camera outside an apartment shared by Black freshmen.
What makes the footage even more unsettling is that the women reportedly lived just upstairs from the students whose doorstep they appeared to mock.
Highlights
- A viral Ring camera video captured two white Ole Miss students allegedly making racist gestures outside a Black student's apartment.
- One resident claimed the women apologized only after facing intense online backlash following the video's circulation.
- The latest incident has renewed scrutiny of Ole Miss following a similar controversy in 2024.
The 13-second clip, filmed on Friday night, November 6, quickly spread across social media, drawing millions of views and prompting calls for the university to take action.
“You can be a bully and still get away with it. It’s sad to see. These young ladies ruined their lives I am sure, they are paying for it already via the internet,” one netizen wrote.
Two white Ole Miss students appeared to make racist gestures outside a Black student's apartment
The incident took place around 8:37 p.m. on Friday when three white women walked past an off-campus apartment near the University of Mississippi campus in Oxford, Mississippi.
The property is home to three Black female freshmen, including student Jakiyra Metcalf, whose Ring doorbell camera captured the encounter.
In the footage, two of the women step toward the camera, beat their chests, and make monkey-like grunts and cooing noises.
The third woman walks behind them and appears to smile, although she does not visibly join in the gestures.
Metcalf shared the recording on TikTok the following day, tagging the university and asking, “What do we have to say about this?”
The video quickly gained more than 11 million views, drawing widespread outrage and calls for accountability.
The students later discovered that the women in the footage were allegedly their upstairs neighbors.
The gestures invoked a deeply offensive racist trope that has historically compared Black people to monkeys and apes, reinforcing a long-standing form of anti-Black dehumanization.
One resident alleged the women apologized only after the video went viral, sparking intense online backlash
The controversy took another turn after educator and public commentator Dr. Resa Willis shared an update attributed to Bethany Joyy, another resident of the apartment.
In the Facebook statement, Joyy reportedly described what happened after the students reviewed the footage and confronted the women.
“Later that night, the first and last girls came and apologized after the video had been uploaded,” Joyy wrote, according to the post shared by Willis.
Joyy also reportedly claimed that the women continued making monkey noises during the confrontation.
When challenged about their behavior, they allegedly said they were “stimming” and that they regularly made random animal noises at Ring cameras.
One of the women even reportedly asked whether the video would be deleted following the apology.
Willis also shared her own reaction to the incident, questioning how anyone could remain comfortable around friends who behaved that way and drawing attention to the third woman's reaction.
Ole Miss condemned the three students' behavior as “offensive, hurtful, and unacceptable” in a public statement
“If MY friends did something like this, I’d be so shocked I’d probably freeze on the spot in disbelief,” she wrote, adding that she would expect “the people close to her never to act that way.”
Following the video's circulation, the University of Mississippi issued a statement condemning the conduct shown in the footage.
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Dr. Shawnboda Mead described the behavior as “deeply troubling, hurtful, and unacceptable,” adding that it “does not reflect our university’s values or the kind of community we strive to be every day.”
The incident is reportedly being investigated by the university's Office of Conflict Resolution and Student Conduct and its Office of Equal Opportunity and Regulatory Compliance.
Mead said officials were committed to a thorough review while prioritizing the safety and well-being of the campus community.
The university also confirmed that “it has reached out to those targeted by the actions to share information, resources, and support.”
However, officials explained that federal student privacy laws, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), prevent them from sharing specific information about student conduct cases or potential disciplinary action.
The latest controversy has renewed attention on a similar racist incident at the same university in 2024
As the footage spread, social media users also began circulating names and claiming that the women belonged to a particular campus sorority.
Mead urged the public not to spread misinformation, noting that “one student had been wrongly identified.”
The university and the Alpha Phi chapter also clarified that no Ole Miss sorority members were involved.
The viral footage has also revived memories of another similar incident at the University of Mississippi in May 2024.
A white male student reportedly appeared to make monkey gestures and noises toward a Black woman during a campus protest.
The university condemned the behavior and opened a student conduct investigation, while Phi Delta Theta fraternity later announced that it had removed a member over racist actions connected to the incident.
With the investigation into the recent alleged racist incident still ongoing, questions have resurfaced about the safety and treatment of Black students on campus, as well as the university’s efforts to address racial harassment.
“Children learn from their parents. Can't wait to see what apology video they put out!” one netizen wrote
