Ole Miss Doorbell Video: University Investigates Racist Gestures at Black Students' Home

The University of Mississippi is investigating a viral Ole Miss doorbell video that shows racist gestures being made outside an off-campus apartment shared by three Black students in Oxford, Mississippi. The 13-second clip, recorded by a Ring doorbell camera on Friday evening, has been viewed more than 11.5 million times — putting the university's response to race-based harassment under a national spotlight.

The video, posted to TikTok by Ole Miss freshman Jakiyra Metcalf, shows three young women walking past the apartment door. Two of them turn toward the camera, make monkey noises and beat their chests, staring directly into the lens. University officials have called the conduct racist and unacceptable, and two campus offices are now investigating.

Key Points

• A 13-second Ring doorbell video from about 8:37 p.m. on Friday, November 6, 2026, shows two women making monkey noises and chest-beating gestures outside an apartment shared by three Black students in Oxford, Mississippi.
• Ole Miss freshman Jakiyra Metcalf posted the clip to TikTok; it passed 11.5 million views by Sunday, according to The Daily Mississippian.
• Vice Chancellor Shawnboda Mead said in a campus letter on Sunday, November 8, that the conduct was racist, deeply troubling, hurtful and unacceptable.
• Two university offices are investigating: the Office of Conflict Resolution and Student Conduct and the Office of Equal Opportunity and Regulatory Compliance.
• The university will not disclose names or disciplinary action, citing the federal student privacy law FERPA, and as of Monday, November 9, no discipline had been announced.

What Happened

The clip was recorded on Friday, November 6, 2026, at about 8:37 p.m. outside an off-campus apartment in Oxford shared by three Black students. The doorbell camera captured three white women walking past the front door. Two of them stopped, faced the camera and made monkey noises while beating their chests, in a gesture widely recognised as a racist insult. The third woman did not take part.

Metcalf posted the video to TikTok and it spread fast, passing 11.5 million views by Sunday, according to The Daily Mississippian. Users on other platforms identified — and in at least one case wrongly identified — the women in the clip. The university has confirmed that one student was wrongly identified online and that no sorority members were involved.

Background: A Viral Clip and a Campus on Edge

The University of Mississippi, known as Ole Miss, is the state's flagship university, based in Oxford, a college town of about 30,000 in northern Mississippi. The school has a long and painful history on race: it was the site of the 1962 riots that followed the enrolment of James Meredith, its first Black student. That history is one reason the video travelled so far, so fast.

A doorbell camera is ordinary home security, but the clip it captured — three students, a few seconds, a gesture aimed straight at the lens — became a national talking point within a day. For the three students who live in the apartment, the incident was not a debate about a video. It happened at their front door, at night, and it was aimed at them.

Ole Miss Doorbell Video: What the 13-Second Clip Shows

The clip is short, but every detail in it matters to the investigation. The camera's timestamp places it at about 8:37 p.m. on Friday, November 6. The three women are walking along the front of the apartment building when two of them turn toward the door. They look directly into the camera, make monkey noises and beat their chests with their fists, then keep walking.

The gesture — imitating an ape toward a Black person — is one of the oldest racist insults in American life, and it is why the university's response has been so direct. Mead did not hedge in her campus letter. She described the conduct as "racist, deeply troubling, hurtful and unacceptable", a wording that leaves no room for the incident to be treated as a prank or a misunderstanding.

Reactions: The University, Students and the Wider Response

Mead's letter, sent to campus on Sunday, November 8, set the tone for the university's response. She confirmed that two offices are investigating — the Office of Conflict Resolution and Student Conduct and the Office of Equal Opportunity and Regulatory Compliance. She also confirmed that staff had contacted the targeted students and connected them with counselling and advocacy support.

The Black Student Union has called for action, asking for discipline that matches the student handbook and that is "proportionate to the very serious nature of race-based harassment". Online, millions have shared the clip, and some have tried to identify the women themselves, with at least one person wrongly accused. No arrest, charge or police report has been reported, and the matter is being handled as a university conduct case rather than a criminal one.

Why It Matters

The incident matters because of where it happened and who it targeted. A student's home is supposed to be private, and a doorbell camera is supposed to be a security device. Instead, the camera recorded racial harassment aimed directly at three Black students at their own front door — and the clip then travelled to millions of strangers.

It also matters because of what happens next. Universities across the United States are under pressure to show that their rules against harassment carry real consequences, and students are watching whether a case with 11.5 million views ends in discipline or in silence. The university's decision to say little about names and process is standard under federal privacy law, but it also means the public may never learn what punishment, if any, is imposed.

What Happens Next

The two university investigations are under way, with no timeline given for when they will conclude. Because the process is governed by student conduct rules and federal privacy law, the university is unlikely to announce the outcome in detail — if it announces it at all. As of Monday, November 9, no discipline had been announced. The Black Student Union is expected to keep pressing for a result. Readers can also see our reports on the shooting at Winston-Salem State's homecoming, the arrest in the Winston-Salem State shooting and the Virginia Beach Amazon warehouse shooting.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened at Ole Miss?
A Ring doorbell video from Friday, November 6, 2026, at about 8:37 p.m. shows two women making monkey noises and chest-beating gestures outside an Oxford, Mississippi, apartment shared by three Black students.

Who posted the video?
Ole Miss freshman Jakiyra Metcalf posted the 13-second clip to TikTok. It passed 11.5 million views by Sunday, according to The Daily Mississippian.

What has the university said?
Vice Chancellor Shawnboda Mead said in a campus letter on Sunday, November 8, that the conduct was racist, deeply troubling, hurtful and unacceptable, and confirmed two offices are investigating.

Has anyone been disciplined or charged?
As of Monday, November 9, no discipline had been announced and no arrest, charge or police report has been reported. The university will not disclose names or action, citing FERPA.

Were sorority members involved?
No. The university has confirmed that no sorority members were involved, and that one student was wrongly identified online.