Blonde Ole Miss student seen hurling taunts on doorbell camera has fundraiser set up and already raised tens of thousands: ‘She’s done nothing wrong!’

An Ole Miss student caught on camera making monkey noises with her friend outside of another student’s apartment has a fundraiser set up in her defense – and it’s already raised more than $42,000. 

Lauren Mayfield, a student at the University of Mississippi, was identified as one of the women making monkey gestures on the Ring camera of an apartment where a group of black students lived. 

One of the other girls, identified as Alaina Kunes, issued an apology and withdrew from the university. But Mayfield has received online support with a fundraiser insisting ‘she did nothing wrong.’

Tom Hennessey, who organized the GiveSendGo page, wrote that Mayfield ‘did not assault anyone. She did not break any law. She made noises in a public walkway.’

‘The rest is a campus bureaucracy and online mob treating a juvenile stunt as a hate crime because the residents were black,’ Hennessey continued. 

‘The same institutions that excuse actual violence, riots, and anti-White rhetoric when the identities flip are now treating this as grounds for expulsion, doxxing, death threats, and career destruction.’

Hennessey insisted that there is a ‘pattern’ in such incidents as these. 

‘Notice something ordinary or make a crude joke, get identified, then the full apparatus activates: university investigation, kosher media framing as “racist incident,” pressure to apologize and self-flagellate, and professional/social ruin if you refuse. Lauren has so far refused. That is the only reason this matters,’ he wrote. 

The fundraiser, which has garnered over $42,584 with a goal of $50k, intends to hand over the funds to Mayfield to cover lost income or opportunities and ‘anything else required so she does not have to fold.’

‘No apologies. No “I didn’t know.” No bending the knee,’ Hennessey said before threatening to cancel the fundraiser if she apologizes. 

Three of the students living in the apartment on the receiving end of the racial gestures told CBS Mornings said after the incident on Friday, the girls attempted to confront the other two students. 

Jakirya Metcalf, a freshman, said she had been in her apartment when she saw the footage from her Ring camera. 

Kunes was the first to appear banging her chest and making monkey noises as she turned to Metcalf’s apartment door in the clip timestamped at around 8.37pm. 

Then, Mayfield joined in making similar noises while jumping up and down in a fashion appearing to also imitate a monkey before following Kunes and laughing. 

A third girl walked behind making no noises herself, but was seen smiling as she passed by Metcalf’s door. 

‘We actually went outside and tried to, like, approach them and get them to explain why they did that,’ Metcalf told the outlet. 

Victoria Johnson, another of the roommates, said that one of the girls said ‘I’m sorry we did that to four doors.’

‘And mind you, we didn’t see any one of those doors. It was just ours that was targeted, and she was like “we didn’t mean any harm”,’ Johnson added. 

Both Metcalf and Johnson said Kunes apologized, but Mayfield continued to taunt them. 

‘She continued to make the gestures after the girl was apologizing,’ Johnson said. ‘It was like a slap in the face.’

Kunes made a public apology on Tuesday, and 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.’

‘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,’ her statement concluded. 

Metcalf said the student’s apology left her with mixed feelings, and told the outlet: ‘I feel like no matter like who we are, or if she knew our race or not, but the gestures and the voices, I feel like it was still very disrespectful.’

Kaiyden Caldwell, a third roommate, added that she appreciated the apology, ‘but I feel like it still doesn’t change what happened on that Friday.’

‘Because it’s still hurtful and it’s still devastating that someone would come to our camera and do that,’ she added.  

Kunes voluntarily withdrew from the university. 

Johnson’s mother, Chiquita Laó, told CBS Mornings that she was surprised by Kunes withdrawal after she said she was harassed. 

‘I hate to hear that because you know the children are the future, but I feel like everybody needs to be accountable,’ she said. 

The video was shared on Facebook by a woman who said she is the mother to one of the students living with Metcalf. 

‘My daughter sent me this video from her Ring camera at her apartment,’ Tasha Bolton wrote. 

‘She’s a freshman at the University of Mississippi. She has two black roommates. The girls on the video live upstairs from them. The video has been shared with university administration, and we want answers.’

‘This is absolutely disgusting and unacceptable. College is supposed to be a place where young adults can learn, grow and feel safe.’

Bethany Joyy, one of the girls who claimed to live in the apartment, wrote on Facebook that they had spoken to the girls seen in the video before about ‘them being loud one time before.’

Joyy said the girls apologized, but stomped again after she and her roommates returned to their downstairs apartment. 

‘When this [the Ring camera footage] happened, I was sitting on my couch while my roommate and best friend were in her room. We HEARD them making the noises from inside the house,’ she continued. 

After reviewing the footage, they confronted the girls and ‘asked them if they did it,’ telling them it was ‘disrespectful,’ Joyy said. 

‘While we were doing this, the monkey sounds continued. We returned inside. My roommate came into contact with them again and was brushed off. Later on in the night, the first and last girls came and apologized AFTER the video had been uploaded,’ she wrote. 

‘They claimed that they were “stimming” and were making animal noises in peoples ring cameras. As u can see in the video, there is another ring camera across the hall that remained untouched. After they apologized, one of the first things that was asked was about if the video was going to be deleted or not.

‘They saw us, and made eye contact with us. We have had conversations with them before and none of them were hostile or anything…We did not make this post to have anyone bashed, nor harassed. We just deserve to feel safe in our home, just as much as anyone else does.’

Joyy said that she and her roommates had always been respectful as neighbors, and that they reported the incident to their property manager and university officials. 

Shawnboda Mead, the vice chancellor for student affairs at the university, issued a statement to the campus community on Sunday night, condemning the behavior as ‘deeply troubling.’

‘Over the weekend, a video circulated on social media showing University of Mississippi students engaging in racist gestures directed toward other students. 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,’ Mead wrote. 

According to Mead, officials reached out to the individuals directly impacted and launched an investigation into the incident. 

‘Every student deserves to feel safe, respected, and valued at the University of Mississippi. Racism and actions that disparage people because of an aspect of their identity have no place in our campus community,’ Mead said. 

‘We remain committed to ensuring our actions reflect the foundational values of dignity and respect for every individual and fostering an environment where all students are cared for and feel they belong.’