Woman was filmed making monkey noises outside Black students’ apartment. Now a fundraiser has raised over $50K for her: ‘She did nothing wrong’

A Ring camera outside a University of Mississippi apartment recorded two women making monkey noises and gestures late on a Friday night. The footage quickly spread after it was shared online, and one of the women identified in the clip later became the focus of a fundraiser.

According to The Daily Mail, Lauren Mayfield was named as one of the students in the video. She and another woman were filmed outside the apartment of Black students. The second woman, Alaina Kunes, later apologized and withdrew from the university.

Mayfield has received public support through a GiveSendGo page set up in her defense. The organizer wrote that she did nothing wrong and described the episode as a juvenile stunt that campus officials and online critics treated as a hate crime. As of writing, the fundraiser had collected $55,581.

Students and university officials address the video after it circulates

Tom Hennessey, who started the fundraiser, wrote that Mayfield “did not assault anyone. She did not break any law. She made noises in a public walkway.” He continued, “The rest is a campus bureaucracy and online mob treating a juvenile stunt as a hate crime because the residents were black.”

Hennessey said the same institutions excuse actual violence, riots, and anti-White rhetoric when the identities flip, yet treat this as grounds for expulsion, doxxing, death threats, and career destruction. The page has currently has a $75,000 goal. He stated the funds would help cover lost income or opportunities and “anything else required so she does not have to fold.”

He added, “No apologies. No ‘I didn’t know.’ No bending the knee,” and said he would cancel the fundraiser if she apologizes. Hennessey described a pattern in which ordinary actions or crude jokes lead to identification, university investigation, media framing as a “racist incident,” and pressure to apologize.

Three roommates – Jakirya Metcalf, Victoria Johnson, and Kaiyden Caldwell – spoke with CBS Mornings about the incident. Metcalf, a freshman, said she was inside when she checked the Ring camera and saw the clip timestamped around 8:37 p.m. Kunes appeared first, banging her chest and making monkey noises as she turned toward the door.

Mayfield then joined, making similar noises while jumping up and down in a way that looked like she was imitating a monkey, before following Kunes and laughing. A third woman walked behind them, smiling but not making noises. Metcalf said, “We actually went outside and tried to, like, approach them and get them to explain why they did that.”

Johnson recalled one of the women saying, “I’m sorry we did that to four doors,” and adding that they “didn’t mean any harm.” She noted they had not seen other doors targeted. Both Metcalf and Johnson said Kunes apologized, but Mayfield kept making the gestures. Johnson said, “She continued to make the gestures after the girl was apologizing. It was like a slap in the face.”

Kunes issued a public apology on Tuesday. She said, “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.” She added, “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.”

Metcalf said the apology left her with mixed feelings and that the gestures and voices were still disrespectful regardless of whether Kunes knew their race. Caldwell said she appreciated the apology but that it did not change what happened, calling it hurtful and devastating that someone would come to their camera and do that. Kunes voluntarily withdrew from the university.

Johnson’s mother, Chiquita Laó, told CBS Mornings she was surprised by the withdrawal after Kunes said she was harassed. Laó said, “I hate to hear that because you know the children are the future, but I feel like everybody needs to be accountable.” The case echoes another incident in which an Austin couple mocked Black college students over parking.

The video was first shared on Facebook by Tasha Bolton, who said she is the mother of one of the students living with Metcalf. Bolton wrote that her daughter sent her the footage and that the women live upstairs. She said the video was shared with university administration and that they wanted answers.

Bethany Joyy, one of the women who said she lives in the apartment, wrote on Facebook that the women claimed they were “stimming” and making animal noises in people’s Ring cameras.

Joyy said they had spoken to the women once before about noise, that the women apologized, and that the noises continued after the roommates went back inside. She wrote that the women made eye contact with them and later asked whether the video would be deleted.

Shawnboda Mead, the vice chancellor for student affairs, issued a statement to the campus community on Sunday night. Mead wrote that a video showed University of Mississippi students engaging in racist gestures directed toward other students. She said the behavior was deeply troubling, hurtful, and unacceptable and that the university condemned it because it does not reflect the university’s values.

Officials reached out to the individuals directly impacted and launched an investigation. Mead said every student deserves to feel safe, respected, and valued, and that racism and actions that disparage people because of an aspect of their identity have no place in the campus community.