Mississippi viral racist video sparks backlash, woman issues apology
Still image from the video
MILWAUKEE - A viral video showing racist gestures at Ole Miss sparked nationwide outrage, and the woman at the center of the video has issued a public apology.
Apology statement
What they're saying:
Gardiner Koch Weisberg & Wrona represents Alaina Kunes. Ms. Kunes has issued the following statement regarding recent events at the University of Mississippi.
Alaina is the daughter of Scott Kunes, who is not a part of Kunes Auto Group.
"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. I would have never intentionally made those noises or gestures toward a person of color. I have apologized to the women and I pray they will forgive me. I can never truly understand the pain I have caused them and it was never my intention. These girls deserve to feel seen and understood and what I did is not a reflection of who I am trying to become.
"Over the past several days, my family and I have received death threats and harassment. I am grateful for the authorities working to ensure our safety. As I intend to cooperate fully with the University’s investigation, I ask for privacy for my family. I understand the seriousness of this situation and remain committed to taking responsibility and learning from this embarrassing ordeal."
— Alaina Kunes, 18 years old, Freshman, University of Mississippi
Original reporting | Nov. 9, 2026
The backstory:
A viral video showing racist gestures at Ole Miss sparked nationwide outrage, signaling trouble for Kunes Auto Group, a Wisconsin dealership that has a storied past with discrimination against Black customers.
Mississippi viral video sparks backlash for WI auto dealership
A viral video showing racist gestures at Ole Miss sparked nationwide outrage, signaling trouble for Kunes Auto Group, a Wisconsin dealership that has a storied past with discrimination against Black customers.
Racist video goes viral
What To Know:
Two confirmed sources who are current employees confirmed one of the students in the video is the daughter of a top executive (see editor's note at bottom of article). The video shows two students acting out monkey gestures and noises outside the apartment of a Black student.
Local perspective:
"Relive the prejudice, the racism, how the country hasn't grown from all the way back in the 50s and 60s, it's 2026 and the country really hasn't grown in that aspect," Carolyn Word said.
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Word bought four cars from Kunes Auto Group. She shared text messages from last March with a sales representative from the Elkhorn location, sending her memes of a bear and ape in a skirt.
"He said ‘haha…I thought I was going to have my first time selling a car to a bear’…it was humiliating…it felt like a blast from the past growing up in Mississippi, never thought this would happen. I was just humiliated," Word said.
Link to Kunes Auto Group
Big picture view:
The viral Ole Miss video reopened wounds as FOX6 learned one of the students is the daughter of a Kunes Auto Group executive.
"This is coming from a current employee who has worked at Kunes for years who knows the family very well, who knows the young person," said attorney, William Sulton.
William Sulton is Word's attorney. He also represents the woman FOX6 previously profiled in 2025 that received the N-word on her oil change sticker.
"I think people are right to draw this connection, this is racist behavior," Sulton said.
"This isn't just a family issue because of the nature of the misconduct here, but they should come out do the right thing and say hey my daughter made a mistake. We don't believe in this and we're going to do something about it," Sulton said.
Racial slur on Oak Creek car dealership's oil change sticker
A Milwaukee County woman said she went for an oil change and became a victim of racism. The N-word was printed on a sticker she received.
Kunes Auto Group statement
The other side:
"The individual in the video has no employment, ownership, or professional affiliation with Kunes Auto Group. We do not comment on private citizens unaffiliated with the company. Our organization is built on treating every person with dignity and respect, and we do our best to live out those values every day."
What they're saying:
"People make mistakes and I recognize that, particularly young people, but this is part of a pattern of racism this permeates through their family and business," said Sulton.
"My thought is that it is untrue, because if that was true those incidents wouldn't have happened," Word said.
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In a message to students and staff, the University of Mississippi said in part:
"The behavior depicted in this video is deeply troubling, 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."
FOX6 News reached out to the Kunes family by phone, but no one answered.
Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6's Bria Jones and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.
Editor's note: After we first brought you this story, a spokesperson for Kunes Auto Group followed up to let us know that the person it believes to be the "top executive" referenced in our report actually left the dealership in February 2026.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from two current Kunes Auto Group employee sources, Carolyn Word, text messages from an Elkhorn sales representative, civil rights attorney William Sulton, past FOX6 News reporting, a Kunes Auto Group statement, a University of Mississippi statement, attempted phone calls to the Kunes family, and a statement from the attorneys representing Alaina Kunes.