Ole Miss student Alaina Kunes withdrew from the university on Tuesday, and a court filing now connects her family’s car dealership group to a separate racism lawsuit. TMZ reported both developments within about two hours of each other.
Alaina Kunes Withdraws From Ole Miss After Viral Doorbell Video
TMZ reported at 2:36 p.m. PST on Nov. 10 (22:36 UTC) that Alaina Kunes left the University of Mississippi. Sources close to Kunes told the outlet that the school did not expel or suspend her. They said she withdrew on her own after harassment from other students and from people in the local community.
Kunes appears in doorbell camera footage that spread online over the past several days. In the clip, two women beat their chests and make monkey noises as they walk past the apartment of three Black students. A third woman glances toward the camera. TMZ says Ole Miss student Jakiyra Metcalf first shared the video, and the university opened an investigation. TMZ points out that a withdrawal differs from dropping out. It leaves room for Kunes to return as soon as next semester. The outlet says it remains unclear whether she wants to come back.
Kunes Apologizes and Explains Her Side
Kunes has apologized in public. TMZ quotes her describing her actions as “insensitive, inappropriate, and deeply harmful.” She says she never met the other women in the video and did not know their race beforehand. She says she apologized to them personally and will cooperate with the university. TMZ’s withdrawal story also relays her earlier explanation. She described the moment as a joke that went wrong and said she had no idea people of color lived at the apartment. The reporting does not include any response from the three students who live there.
Kunes Family Dealership Faces Racism Lawsuit
The second TMZ report posted at 12:30 p.m. PST (20:30 UTC) and updated at 1:55 p.m. PST (21:55 UTC). It covers a lawsuit from Makayla Starks, a Black woman from Wisconsin, against Kunes Buick GMC of Oak Creek. Court documents TMZ obtained describe events in early 2025. Starks says she bought a car at the dealership and returned months later for a free oil change.
She claims an unidentified employee printed a sticker containing a racial slur and placed it on her windshield. She seeks damages for emotional distress, humiliation and anxiety. The dealership denies that it discriminated on purpose. Alaina Kunes’s father and grandfather held executive positions there. Neither man appears as a defendant. TMZ says her father has since left his role.
Company Statement Draws a Line Between Alaina and the Business
Kunes Auto Group told TMZ that Alaina has no professional connection to the company. It says her father, Scott Kunes, has not worked for or been affiliated with the business since February. TMZ’s own summary says he left after the incident, while the company ties his departure to February. The reporting does not say when the video was recorded relative to that date, so the sequence stays unclear.
The company also acknowledged two separate incidents involving employees at different dealerships in the group. It says neither employee held a leadership role or had a link to the Kunes family, and it says both employees were fired. The sticker allegation dates to early 2025, well before the Ole Miss video. The timing means the lawsuit predates the viral moment, even though the two stories only connected this week through the family name.
TMZ also links to its Nov. 9 report on an ACLU of Mississippi investigation, which adds an outside review on top of the university’s own. Watch for three things next: the outcome of the Ole Miss investigation, whether Kunes returns to campus, and the first court dates in the Starks case. TMZ’s reports give no hearing schedule, and no filing in the lawsuit names Alaina Kunes.
