Nov. 10, 2026
Racism On Ring Cam: Ole Miss Investigates Disgusting, Now-Viral Racial Harassment
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RSS Feed An investigation is underway after a disturbing video has gone viral on social media. It’s from a ring camera showing three white women approaching an off campus apartment door where three black students live. Two of the girls walk up to the camera and make monkey noises and gestures. The University of Mississippi says it is looking into possible disciplinary action, stating “The behavior depicted in this video is deeply troubling, hurtful, and unacceptable.” However, it’s the exact same language they used after a similar incident two yeas ago, and the university has made it clear, based on privacy laws, we may never know what disciplinary action, if any, will be taken.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
00:00:02
Speaker 1: Hey there, folks. It is Tuesday, November 10th, and a debate is raging online over a RingCam video. A RingCam video that caught what appears to be some pretty racist behavior. The debate is what should happen to the women on that video, or should anything happen to them at all? And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ about a racist incident of all places, the University of Mississippi. campus or like they like to call themselves Ole Miss. All right. All right, Ole Miss, what you got to say about this one?
00:00:38
Speaker 2: Yeah, and look, when you started out saying there is a debate, I was actually curious where you were going with that because to me this is an indebatable situation. This is horrific, horrendous, despicable, disgusting behavior.
00:00:56
Speaker 1: Some don't get it.
00:00:56
Speaker 2: It's racist. It's harassment. And it should not be tolerated, period. End of story.
00:01:01
Speaker 1: Some don't get it. I say debate, babe, because, you know, this morning you and I talked and said, okay, this is an episode we need to talk, we need to do and talk more about it. And then a little while later I said, babe, I don't even want to do this story. I don't even want to talk about it. It's just exhausting to hear the same heated, nasty, racist arguments being thrown out ropes and being dismissive of black people actually feeling something when their humanity is questioned.
00:01:31
Speaker 2: And that's a really good way to put it. This is about depicting somebody as subhuman. This is about degrading a fellow university student in such an appalling way in a state that has.
00:01:48
Speaker 1: An appalling history.
00:01:50
Speaker 2: An appalling history of... how we treat and how black people have been treated in that state, period.
00:01:59
Speaker 1: So I guess, Rose, at this point, a lot of people have seen this. Last count, I don't know if you saw, but 12 million plus views this thing got on TikTok. I'm not sure where it is as of this recording, but that was the latest when we checked. But this all comes from an incident, Rose, last Friday. And like we said, we got cameras all over the place, right? Can't do anything. So last Friday, Ring camera catches this. So, Rose, we know college campuses fairly well. This was at night. This looked like three young ladies returning home from a night out. That's what it appears. Again, this is strictly a ring cam video, and we see these three ladies.
00:02:36
Speaker 2: Yes, and it seems like these three ladies knew. And I should say, there were three ladies who were walking. There were two who behaved terribly. One just kind of kept her head down and kept walking. But the two that behaved terribly seemed to be very aware. that there was a ring camera and were actually Yes, performing in front of the ring camera. They were unabashedly being aggressive. They were harassing. To me, that's what is distinctive. This isn't a ring camera catching someone behaving badly. This looked like a very specific choice by these two girls to go up to the ring camera and intimidate and try to humiliate the people who lived inside, knowing that they would see what they were doing.
00:03:25
Speaker 1: And there were, so you got three black students who live in the apartment where the ring cam is, and you have these three white ladies walking past it. What would you say, babe? They looked on the younger side to me of college students.
00:03:39
Speaker 2: They look like they were in their early 20s. I mean, it could be 19, 20, 21. Yes, they looked like. This is an off-campus apartment building from what I understand, so I was just deducing the fact that they're probably not freshmen because I believe most freshmen on most campuses have to live on campus. So let's just say they're sophomores, juniors, or seniors, but they clearly looked like they were college age. They looked like they had been out partying. They had their little party outfits on.
00:04:02
Speaker 1: Somebody had a cup. Didn't somebody have a cup in their hand?
00:04:05
Speaker 2: I thought someone did, but I looked at it again, and I think it was a phone in their hand.
00:04:09
Speaker 1: Okay, gotcha, gotcha.
00:04:10
Speaker 2: Because I thought it was a beer bottle at first. To be honest, I actually had the same thought. But no, I looked closer. It was a phone in their hand. But these two young ladies... It absolutely, and they are enjoying themselves. They are being incredibly demonstrative. And yes, have we even said what they did if you haven't already seen this video?
00:04:32
Speaker 1: They're making monkey and ape sounds and gestures to this camera. It seemed unprompted. Obviously, there was nobody outside with them interacting with them. They took it upon just walking by and make a point. To put on a show at the home where you know black people live.
00:04:54
Speaker 2: Yes.
00:04:55
Speaker 1: There has to be a history here. Why would they just on their way by going home, a home that hasn't said anything? Maybe there's history. Maybe there's something we're going to find out. Nothing's going to justify this. But they made a point to stop at this home.
00:05:07
Speaker 2: Yes, and that's a good point. Nothing justifies beating your chest, making monkey ape noises toâ A group of other fellow students who happen to be black. Yes, that is a choice. That is a deliberate action. And they did it into the door so that they would see what they did. This isn't like them joking and they got caught. Not that that would be okay either. But it makes it seem like it goes from just being offensive and disgusting to harassment. When you're deliberately choosing to go up to a door. And make gestures that you know are highly offensive. And look, all we have right now is the mother of one of the young women who live in that apartment. She's the one who said that the girls who walked by actually live upstairs. So we can deduce that they are neighbors, so to speak. They must obviously know each other. And perhaps there's history. Again, nothing justifies this, but perhaps they've had some bad blood between them, and that's how these girls decided to up the ante, so to speak.
00:06:11
Speaker 1: And yes, they did. So, Rose, this obviously has been condemned widely by many people online as the debate rages on. Obviously, a lot of black people can relate. I say relate in that at some point throughout your life, you get called the N-word, you get stopped by cops, you get call monkeys and apes. It's kind of a rite of passage.
00:06:33
Speaker 2: You get stopped. I've seen this by store clerks asking you if they can take what items you may have in your hands in case you might steal them. Just being given bad tables. I remember several times you've laughed when I haven't been with you and said, hey, Sabine and I are in the back of the restaurant with the other black family. I mean, there are just little, I say little, and yes, seemingly maybe in a larger scale of things insignificant, but it's It's one jab after the other that, yes, you live with day in and day out that, sorry, but us white folks just don't experience.
00:07:19
Speaker 1: So that is why, Robes, I came to you a little later in the morning this morning and I said, you know, I don't even want to do this story because I see Where it's not, what do you call it, a debate, a conversation, just all-out argument online where people are dismissive of this being racist. Because the first thing they say is, well, the news didn't cover when this black guy did this to this white girl. Well, the news didn't cover when these four assailants did this to these white victims. It's this kind of a comparative suffering like being dismissive of you being called a name or your humanity, your dignity being trampled on for the sake of, well, these black people over here did worse to white people, so shut up. That's the debate. And that's why I came to you, babe. My energy changed.
00:08:16
Speaker 2: Your energy completely shifted and it's exhaustion is what it is.
00:08:20
Speaker 1: It is, babe. What I really need to explain, do we need to explain, do we need to have a conversation on why you shouldn't call people the N-word and why you shouldn't compare them to apes? If your answer is yes, that needs to be explained to me, then I at least would say you're open to learning something you don't know. But too often, Robes, it's just dismissed. Who cares about how you feel? This plays directly into, babe, this narrative of once again, you're just humanity. You're less than. You're not up to. You don't have the right genes. Depictions of us as apes were meant to justify slavery. They had to have a justification for why you could treat human beings this way.
00:09:11
Speaker 2: Because you're subhumans.
00:09:12
Speaker 1: You're not human beings. This is the theme, y'all. This is the idea. This goes back hundreds, thousands of years. And we're still debating and talking about why this could be hurtful, why this is wrong. If they just went by just yelling the N-word as they walked by. It's the same damn thing. And so if anybody's listening to that and you are not black and you are saying, TJ, that's ridiculous. I ask you to just respect that I have had a different experience than you have. And trust me, when I hear ape sounds and hear the N-word, just trust me, based on my experience as a black person, how it impacts me. Just give me that.
00:09:54
Speaker 2: Oh, it breaks my heart.
00:09:55
Speaker 1: Just give me that.
00:09:57
Speaker 2: It's awful to think that... anybody, and I wouldn't, I hope that everyone listening gets it on a human to human level. It is not okay. And it does have deep painful roots in a painful horrific history in this country and specifically in the state of mississippi and look these girls have been confirmed as students i know that the and we'll get into the old missus official statement but they have been um the some of the back and forth is that the there have been people who have then tried to say these girls were a member of a sorority or the tried to do these generalizations. One's blonde, one's brunette. They have a certain white girl, sorority girl look to them, yes. And so they've jumped to the conclusion. It was so interesting. The university felt like they needed to protect sorority girls and say, neither one of these girls was a member of a sorority on campus. So let that be established.
00:10:58
Speaker 1: You know, I think some of that is fair. I don't want to... I don't think the entire white student population... I don't think every fraternity and sorority, obviously not. But, Jesus, criminy. What are you going to do with these girls? What example are you going to set? Can they walk around that campus anymore? Can the 10% black population you have versus the 75% white student population, who's going to feel safe on that campus? Robes, it doesn't feel good anymore. To know those people are walking around and maybe on some random Friday or Saturday night, instead of three white girls, it's three drunk white boys and you're walking by yourself. Alone as a black student, you don't feel safe if you think your university, if anything happens to you, is going to laugh it off or not do real discipline or this gets dismissed, baby. This is a safety issue.
00:11:56
Speaker 2: To exactly what you're saying, I've been obviously reading a bunch of articles and they interviewed a black student there at Ole Miss. And what she said, and I'm just going to have to... It won't be verbatim, but it broke my heart. You'll understand. She said, I hate thinking. She's like, I've never experienced anything negative on campus, but now I hate thinking that when I pass somebody, I think they're looking at me friendly. I think they're looking at me as a fellow student. I've assumed that she hadn't had a negative experience, but upon seeing this video, she thought, she said, now... I'm questioning everything. Like, what is that person really thinking as they're passing me? Does that person consider me less than a human? I mean, that is heartbreaking. That is absolutely heartbreaking. And I cannot, I mean, this, look, we already heard Ole Miss already kind of say, we're not going to let you know what happens because of student privacy laws or whatever in terms of whatever disciplinary action. But I feel like in this case, Fine. Are they not going to release these girls' names? Okay. I'm pretty sure everyone knows who they are. They're very identifiable in these videos. But clearly disciplinary action needs to be taken. And I would fully support, as I imagine you would too, these girls don't belong on campus. They don't belong on campus.
00:13:27
Speaker 1: You know, that's where, and Robes, I will stop short. I give room for young people to be stupid. And I would call them stupid before racist. I don't know them at all. And I don't want to attack. Robes, you know how I am. I want to give folks grace and understand what was going on and what the background is. And these are two very, very young women. Robes, do they need to be educated? Do they need to be sat down? Do they need to be spanked? Do they need to be punished? Do they need to understand something? Because why is that in them? That thing to come out? Like, I see a black person I don't like. Why is that thing my go-to? Why? Let me go to that. That's mindset, mentality. What are we teaching folks these days? The university... We have their statement here. I mean, what else are they supposed to say, Robes? There's something I want to point out from this statement that goes to another statement that they put out. This one this year about this incident this year. This is just the last couple of days. Quote, the university is aware of a video depicting offensive, hurtful and unacceptable behaviors that conflict with our university values. We condemn them. The university has reached out to those targeted by the actions to share. information, resources, and support. The incident is actively being investigated by the appropriate university offices and processes. Important to note that student conduct cases, records, and any potential disciplinary action are protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. I'm assuming, Robe, something's going to have to come out. Something will come out if these girls aren't on campus all of a sudden.
00:15:07
Speaker 2: That's my point. Like, first of all, I would have, I mean, you may say I'm naive, but I would have to believe that some Disciplinary action must be taken against these two girls, period.
00:15:20
Speaker 1: But must it be announced? They're suggesting you might not hear anything.
00:15:24
Speaker 2: Else from us. And that was the most alarming part of their statement to me because, look, I understand certain privacy laws, but they put their faces on that camera and chose to do what they did. They identified themselves.
00:15:40
Speaker 1: Make a good point.
00:15:41
Speaker 2: And I think that disciplinary action needs to take place. And fine, they don't have to announce their names. But those two girls identified themselves.
00:15:50
Speaker 1: There's a public interest here that they're going to have to let us know what happened. But stay here, folks. There was a similar incident just two years ago on the same campus. Wait until you hear the same statement that they put out at the time.
00:16:17
Speaker 2: Welcome back everyone to Amy and TJ. We are talking about what a lot of people are talking about online. There is a ring cam that has gone viral from the Ole Miss campus, or at least off-campus housing there, where you see two white girls making... ape-like noises and gestures as they walk past the apartment where three black students reside. They go and look into the camera and deliberately make these racist gestures. So what happens now? According to the university, we may never know.
00:16:52
Speaker 1: What should happen? What's right? What's the right thing to do? What's the right thing to do with these girls?
00:17:00
Speaker 2: Look, I would defer to you completely about what would make this right and what would be the best outcome.
00:17:07
Speaker 1: We need a community, a campus community engagement over this, right? There needs to be a piece. I don't know who's going to do it. There should be a mandatory freaking school-wide assembly. And we are going to talk this out and work this out. But we need leadership in a conversation here, Robes, because this is dividing people. What's supposed to happen to these young ladies?
00:17:33
Speaker 2: Right. If they get punished, then are they martyred by folks who think they did nothing wrong? Who would do that? Does it create a further divide where people say freedom of speech? What happened to that? Look, look, I can just see people. Obviously, there is a line that was clearly crossed from free speech to deliberate harassment.
00:17:52
Speaker 1: Yes, this is different.
00:17:54
Speaker 2: Deliberate harassment. There is a difference, obviously. But I just... Look, I agree. I would think the best punishment possible would be for these two girls to have to publicly apologize. To have to talk about why they did what they did. How they understand what they did.
00:18:11
Speaker 1: That's a good one, baby.
00:18:12
Speaker 2: That would be, to me, the best healing way forward.
00:18:15
Speaker 1: You want to get expelled or you want to do this?
00:18:17
Speaker 2: Exactly.
00:18:18
Speaker 1: That's not bad, baby. I just... I am not a fan of total cancellation. I'm not a fan of throwing people away when they make mistakes. I'm not a fan of that. I would like to hear something. Is this an excuse? Is this the worst thing ever? It's pretty damn bad. Would we be thinking differently if they just walked by and yelled the N-word?
00:18:39
Speaker 2: Right?
00:18:39
Speaker 1: Would the university look at that any differently? Would you, if you're listening here, would you take that any differently? No, I wouldn't. I don't know.
00:18:46
Speaker 2: To me, it's the same.
00:18:47
Speaker 1: I just, I don't. What do you do with these two? Just two years ago, 2024, protest, pro-Palestinian demonstration, and they had a clash of protesters and counter-protesters out there. And sure enough, this was on video as well. And there was a young black lady who was standing there, a sea of white people just yelling at her, if you will. And sure enough, one of the guys, you see him on video, even more demonstrative in making ape gestures and movements and sounds, right? They see it. OK, the university puts a statement out at the time. We're not going to read this whole thing. But the first line, I say, wait a minute. They just dust this thing off robes waiting for the next incident.
00:19:27
Speaker 2: I mean, this is concerning. They have a blanket. I'm laughing. Sorry for the racist actions of our students. Comment ready to go. But yes, they said university leaders are aware that some statements made were, quote, offensive, hurtful and unacceptable.
00:19:43
Speaker 1: OK, that was 2024 after that incident. Rose, go back. How did they start this one?
00:19:48
Speaker 2: They said, the university is aware of a video depicting offensive, hurtful, and unacceptable behaviors.
00:19:54
Speaker 1: The same words in the same order about the same thing. Did they really just dust this off?
00:20:01
Speaker 2: Yes, they were made aware of a video instead of being made aware of some statements.
00:20:06
Speaker 1: Offensive, hurtful, and unacceptable. It's so hard. That's hilarious.
00:20:11
Speaker 2: It's lazy and it shows exactly what's going on. It's like a rubber stamp.
00:20:16
Speaker 1: We're ready for it. When is the next one coming? Okay, I just found that absolutely hilarious. But last few things I want to leave folks with, Robes, and people will remember the most recent incident of this was the president.
00:20:28
Speaker 2: Yes. President Trump on Truth Social ended a video that had an AI-generated image of... Michelle and Barack Obama as apes. And it took him a while to take it down. He claims he didn't know that was at the end, but he eventually did remove it. But look, the damage was done. The President of the United States put a video up on his Truth Social account that depicted A former president of the United States and the former first lady, the only and first and only black first couple. Apes. Depicted as apes.
00:21:08
Speaker 1: Okay, people went crazy. He eventually took that down, but it took him a while for folks to convince him to get that one down. But the backlash was instant and widespread. I forgot about this one, Roseanne Barr called Valerie Jarrett says she looked like she was half ape, a part ape.
00:21:22
Speaker 2: Yeah, something about her and something had a child. It'd be a Planet of the Apes character or something like that. I actually just listened because I had completely forgotten about that to her tearful apology saying she never knew. She wasn't trying to make a comparison. She has family members who are African-American. She's not a racist. She's just sobbing. I mean, she was canceled.
00:21:44
Speaker 1: Okay, is it possible that there are people listening to us that do not understand you shouldn't do this And why?
00:21:53
Speaker 2: No, I think that anyone who has a moral compass, and I would say I would hope that's most people. I am somebody, and again, maybe it's naive, but who believe that most people know better. And however they might want to justify it based on experiences they've had. Okay, like you said, we're listening. But I don't see how you can honestly look at anyone in the face and justify that this is an appropriate way to handle anger or conflict.
00:22:24
Speaker 1: But do they not know? Are there people who genuinely are confused and go, wait, what? I didn't know you couldn't do that.
00:22:32
Speaker 2: To not compare a human being to an animal?
00:22:34
Speaker 1: To a black person to an animal.
00:22:36
Speaker 2: Specifically a black person to an animal. I think every person knows better. You think so? I do.
00:22:42
Speaker 1: There was another incident. If you don't know this, go back and look it up. Go back and look at the Vogue cover that included LeBron James and Gisele Bundchen. Supermodel and superstar athlete. After you look up that cover, look up the cover to the original King Kong movie.
00:23:03
Speaker 2: Oh. Oh. Yeah.
00:23:07
Speaker 1: That got all confused. Kinds of hell. He was the first black man to ever be on the cover of Oak. And many thought they took the opportunity to depict him as an angry ape who was running off with a white woman. That was hard to see how somebody in the room didn't get that. Robes, how many times do we say this? You have no black people on your staff anywhere? Diversity to raise their hand and say, hey guys, we might get in trouble on this one. Remember the cartoon thing with Target? Remember the Halloween costume? Like there are things you can't believe slide through.
00:23:43
Speaker 2: That no one recognizes that. Yes.
00:23:45
Speaker 1: You're still looking at that cover?
00:23:46
Speaker 2: Yeah, because LeBron, I mean, he looks like I'm not even used to him seeing. Like with his muscles flexing. Bared teeth. He looks like he is roaring.
00:23:58
Speaker 1: Yes, he does.
00:23:59
Speaker 2: And I just don't normally, and then Giselle, yes. Oh, wow. I honestly don't even remember that.
00:24:06
Speaker 1: Ah, okay. Last thing we'll leave you with here, folks. We say this goes back, and this goes back to the origins of our country. You just, it's been done, Robes, repeatedly. to justify the mistreatment and keeping black people enslaved. You have to yourself morally justify that you're able to do it. And the reason I'm able to do it is because those people I am enslaving are inferior. They are ape-like. And I'm quoting now, as uniformly as it is the preference of the orangutan for the black women over those of their own species. I advance it therefore as suspicion only that the blacks, whether originally a distinct race or made distinct by time and circumstances, are inferior to the whites in the endowments both of body and mind. Written by the great Thomas Jefferson. Who was, yes, someone who enslaved people. Robes, this is who we are. This is what we do. We need to understand it. But you cannot, please don't get mad at black folks. When our hearts are broken, when we see a 20-year-old, the future of the country, still behaving like the past we're trying to get rid of, that's all. That's all.
00:25:33
Speaker 2: Nothing else needs to be said.
00:25:35
Speaker 1: That's all.
00:25:38
Speaker 2: I think that that is as plain as it gets. That is where so much of this is rooted, and those girls probably don't even know what Thomas Jefferson said, but it's been carried down generation to generation, and we have to wake up and acknowledge that words hurt, that those types of actions aren't just silly or something to be laughed off. This is painful and this needs to stop. Period. So we shall see what Ole Miss decides to do or not.
00:26:15
Speaker 1: By the way, the nickname Ole Miss is from slave days. That's what enslaved folks used to call the woman who was the head of the house to make a distinction between her and the younger women of the house. The Ole Miss. The Ole Miss. Their name, their literal nickname is based in some bullshit.
00:26:33
Speaker 2: Man. history is important isn't it alright and with that everyone we always appreciate you listening to us I'm Amy Robach alongside DJ Holmes we'll talk soon
Speaker 1: Hey there, folks. It is Tuesday, November 10th, and a debate is raging online over a RingCam video. A RingCam video that caught what appears to be some pretty racist behavior. The debate is what should happen to the women on that video, or should anything happen to them at all? And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ about a racist incident of all places, the University of Mississippi. campus or like they like to call themselves Ole Miss. All right. All right, Ole Miss, what you got to say about this one?
00:00:38
Speaker 2: Yeah, and look, when you started out saying there is a debate, I was actually curious where you were going with that because to me this is an indebatable situation. This is horrific, horrendous, despicable, disgusting behavior.
00:00:56
Speaker 1: Some don't get it.
00:00:56
Speaker 2: It's racist. It's harassment. And it should not be tolerated, period. End of story.
00:01:01
Speaker 1: Some don't get it. I say debate, babe, because, you know, this morning you and I talked and said, okay, this is an episode we need to talk, we need to do and talk more about it. And then a little while later I said, babe, I don't even want to do this story. I don't even want to talk about it. It's just exhausting to hear the same heated, nasty, racist arguments being thrown out ropes and being dismissive of black people actually feeling something when their humanity is questioned.
00:01:31
Speaker 2: And that's a really good way to put it. This is about depicting somebody as subhuman. This is about degrading a fellow university student in such an appalling way in a state that has.
00:01:48
Speaker 1: An appalling history.
00:01:50
Speaker 2: An appalling history of... how we treat and how black people have been treated in that state, period.
00:01:59
Speaker 1: So I guess, Rose, at this point, a lot of people have seen this. Last count, I don't know if you saw, but 12 million plus views this thing got on TikTok. I'm not sure where it is as of this recording, but that was the latest when we checked. But this all comes from an incident, Rose, last Friday. And like we said, we got cameras all over the place, right? Can't do anything. So last Friday, Ring camera catches this. So, Rose, we know college campuses fairly well. This was at night. This looked like three young ladies returning home from a night out. That's what it appears. Again, this is strictly a ring cam video, and we see these three ladies.
00:02:36
Speaker 2: Yes, and it seems like these three ladies knew. And I should say, there were three ladies who were walking. There were two who behaved terribly. One just kind of kept her head down and kept walking. But the two that behaved terribly seemed to be very aware. that there was a ring camera and were actually Yes, performing in front of the ring camera. They were unabashedly being aggressive. They were harassing. To me, that's what is distinctive. This isn't a ring camera catching someone behaving badly. This looked like a very specific choice by these two girls to go up to the ring camera and intimidate and try to humiliate the people who lived inside, knowing that they would see what they were doing.
00:03:25
Speaker 1: And there were, so you got three black students who live in the apartment where the ring cam is, and you have these three white ladies walking past it. What would you say, babe? They looked on the younger side to me of college students.
00:03:39
Speaker 2: They look like they were in their early 20s. I mean, it could be 19, 20, 21. Yes, they looked like. This is an off-campus apartment building from what I understand, so I was just deducing the fact that they're probably not freshmen because I believe most freshmen on most campuses have to live on campus. So let's just say they're sophomores, juniors, or seniors, but they clearly looked like they were college age. They looked like they had been out partying. They had their little party outfits on.
00:04:02
Speaker 1: Somebody had a cup. Didn't somebody have a cup in their hand?
00:04:05
Speaker 2: I thought someone did, but I looked at it again, and I think it was a phone in their hand.
00:04:09
Speaker 1: Okay, gotcha, gotcha.
00:04:10
Speaker 2: Because I thought it was a beer bottle at first. To be honest, I actually had the same thought. But no, I looked closer. It was a phone in their hand. But these two young ladies... It absolutely, and they are enjoying themselves. They are being incredibly demonstrative. And yes, have we even said what they did if you haven't already seen this video?
00:04:32
Speaker 1: They're making monkey and ape sounds and gestures to this camera. It seemed unprompted. Obviously, there was nobody outside with them interacting with them. They took it upon just walking by and make a point. To put on a show at the home where you know black people live.
00:04:54
Speaker 2: Yes.
00:04:55
Speaker 1: There has to be a history here. Why would they just on their way by going home, a home that hasn't said anything? Maybe there's history. Maybe there's something we're going to find out. Nothing's going to justify this. But they made a point to stop at this home.
00:05:07
Speaker 2: Yes, and that's a good point. Nothing justifies beating your chest, making monkey ape noises toâ A group of other fellow students who happen to be black. Yes, that is a choice. That is a deliberate action. And they did it into the door so that they would see what they did. This isn't like them joking and they got caught. Not that that would be okay either. But it makes it seem like it goes from just being offensive and disgusting to harassment. When you're deliberately choosing to go up to a door. And make gestures that you know are highly offensive. And look, all we have right now is the mother of one of the young women who live in that apartment. She's the one who said that the girls who walked by actually live upstairs. So we can deduce that they are neighbors, so to speak. They must obviously know each other. And perhaps there's history. Again, nothing justifies this, but perhaps they've had some bad blood between them, and that's how these girls decided to up the ante, so to speak.
00:06:11
Speaker 1: And yes, they did. So, Rose, this obviously has been condemned widely by many people online as the debate rages on. Obviously, a lot of black people can relate. I say relate in that at some point throughout your life, you get called the N-word, you get stopped by cops, you get call monkeys and apes. It's kind of a rite of passage.
00:06:33
Speaker 2: You get stopped. I've seen this by store clerks asking you if they can take what items you may have in your hands in case you might steal them. Just being given bad tables. I remember several times you've laughed when I haven't been with you and said, hey, Sabine and I are in the back of the restaurant with the other black family. I mean, there are just little, I say little, and yes, seemingly maybe in a larger scale of things insignificant, but it's It's one jab after the other that, yes, you live with day in and day out that, sorry, but us white folks just don't experience.
00:07:19
Speaker 1: So that is why, Robes, I came to you a little later in the morning this morning and I said, you know, I don't even want to do this story because I see Where it's not, what do you call it, a debate, a conversation, just all-out argument online where people are dismissive of this being racist. Because the first thing they say is, well, the news didn't cover when this black guy did this to this white girl. Well, the news didn't cover when these four assailants did this to these white victims. It's this kind of a comparative suffering like being dismissive of you being called a name or your humanity, your dignity being trampled on for the sake of, well, these black people over here did worse to white people, so shut up. That's the debate. And that's why I came to you, babe. My energy changed.
00:08:16
Speaker 2: Your energy completely shifted and it's exhaustion is what it is.
00:08:20
Speaker 1: It is, babe. What I really need to explain, do we need to explain, do we need to have a conversation on why you shouldn't call people the N-word and why you shouldn't compare them to apes? If your answer is yes, that needs to be explained to me, then I at least would say you're open to learning something you don't know. But too often, Robes, it's just dismissed. Who cares about how you feel? This plays directly into, babe, this narrative of once again, you're just humanity. You're less than. You're not up to. You don't have the right genes. Depictions of us as apes were meant to justify slavery. They had to have a justification for why you could treat human beings this way.
00:09:11
Speaker 2: Because you're subhumans.
00:09:12
Speaker 1: You're not human beings. This is the theme, y'all. This is the idea. This goes back hundreds, thousands of years. And we're still debating and talking about why this could be hurtful, why this is wrong. If they just went by just yelling the N-word as they walked by. It's the same damn thing. And so if anybody's listening to that and you are not black and you are saying, TJ, that's ridiculous. I ask you to just respect that I have had a different experience than you have. And trust me, when I hear ape sounds and hear the N-word, just trust me, based on my experience as a black person, how it impacts me. Just give me that.
00:09:54
Speaker 2: Oh, it breaks my heart.
00:09:55
Speaker 1: Just give me that.
00:09:57
Speaker 2: It's awful to think that... anybody, and I wouldn't, I hope that everyone listening gets it on a human to human level. It is not okay. And it does have deep painful roots in a painful horrific history in this country and specifically in the state of mississippi and look these girls have been confirmed as students i know that the and we'll get into the old missus official statement but they have been um the some of the back and forth is that the there have been people who have then tried to say these girls were a member of a sorority or the tried to do these generalizations. One's blonde, one's brunette. They have a certain white girl, sorority girl look to them, yes. And so they've jumped to the conclusion. It was so interesting. The university felt like they needed to protect sorority girls and say, neither one of these girls was a member of a sorority on campus. So let that be established.
00:10:58
Speaker 1: You know, I think some of that is fair. I don't want to... I don't think the entire white student population... I don't think every fraternity and sorority, obviously not. But, Jesus, criminy. What are you going to do with these girls? What example are you going to set? Can they walk around that campus anymore? Can the 10% black population you have versus the 75% white student population, who's going to feel safe on that campus? Robes, it doesn't feel good anymore. To know those people are walking around and maybe on some random Friday or Saturday night, instead of three white girls, it's three drunk white boys and you're walking by yourself. Alone as a black student, you don't feel safe if you think your university, if anything happens to you, is going to laugh it off or not do real discipline or this gets dismissed, baby. This is a safety issue.
00:11:56
Speaker 2: To exactly what you're saying, I've been obviously reading a bunch of articles and they interviewed a black student there at Ole Miss. And what she said, and I'm just going to have to... It won't be verbatim, but it broke my heart. You'll understand. She said, I hate thinking. She's like, I've never experienced anything negative on campus, but now I hate thinking that when I pass somebody, I think they're looking at me friendly. I think they're looking at me as a fellow student. I've assumed that she hadn't had a negative experience, but upon seeing this video, she thought, she said, now... I'm questioning everything. Like, what is that person really thinking as they're passing me? Does that person consider me less than a human? I mean, that is heartbreaking. That is absolutely heartbreaking. And I cannot, I mean, this, look, we already heard Ole Miss already kind of say, we're not going to let you know what happens because of student privacy laws or whatever in terms of whatever disciplinary action. But I feel like in this case, Fine. Are they not going to release these girls' names? Okay. I'm pretty sure everyone knows who they are. They're very identifiable in these videos. But clearly disciplinary action needs to be taken. And I would fully support, as I imagine you would too, these girls don't belong on campus. They don't belong on campus.
00:13:27
Speaker 1: You know, that's where, and Robes, I will stop short. I give room for young people to be stupid. And I would call them stupid before racist. I don't know them at all. And I don't want to attack. Robes, you know how I am. I want to give folks grace and understand what was going on and what the background is. And these are two very, very young women. Robes, do they need to be educated? Do they need to be sat down? Do they need to be spanked? Do they need to be punished? Do they need to understand something? Because why is that in them? That thing to come out? Like, I see a black person I don't like. Why is that thing my go-to? Why? Let me go to that. That's mindset, mentality. What are we teaching folks these days? The university... We have their statement here. I mean, what else are they supposed to say, Robes? There's something I want to point out from this statement that goes to another statement that they put out. This one this year about this incident this year. This is just the last couple of days. Quote, the university is aware of a video depicting offensive, hurtful and unacceptable behaviors that conflict with our university values. We condemn them. The university has reached out to those targeted by the actions to share. information, resources, and support. The incident is actively being investigated by the appropriate university offices and processes. Important to note that student conduct cases, records, and any potential disciplinary action are protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. I'm assuming, Robe, something's going to have to come out. Something will come out if these girls aren't on campus all of a sudden.
00:15:07
Speaker 2: That's my point. Like, first of all, I would have, I mean, you may say I'm naive, but I would have to believe that some Disciplinary action must be taken against these two girls, period.
00:15:20
Speaker 1: But must it be announced? They're suggesting you might not hear anything.
00:15:24
Speaker 2: Else from us. And that was the most alarming part of their statement to me because, look, I understand certain privacy laws, but they put their faces on that camera and chose to do what they did. They identified themselves.
00:15:40
Speaker 1: Make a good point.
00:15:41
Speaker 2: And I think that disciplinary action needs to take place. And fine, they don't have to announce their names. But those two girls identified themselves.
00:15:50
Speaker 1: There's a public interest here that they're going to have to let us know what happened. But stay here, folks. There was a similar incident just two years ago on the same campus. Wait until you hear the same statement that they put out at the time.
00:16:17
Speaker 2: Welcome back everyone to Amy and TJ. We are talking about what a lot of people are talking about online. There is a ring cam that has gone viral from the Ole Miss campus, or at least off-campus housing there, where you see two white girls making... ape-like noises and gestures as they walk past the apartment where three black students reside. They go and look into the camera and deliberately make these racist gestures. So what happens now? According to the university, we may never know.
00:16:52
Speaker 1: What should happen? What's right? What's the right thing to do? What's the right thing to do with these girls?
00:17:00
Speaker 2: Look, I would defer to you completely about what would make this right and what would be the best outcome.
00:17:07
Speaker 1: We need a community, a campus community engagement over this, right? There needs to be a piece. I don't know who's going to do it. There should be a mandatory freaking school-wide assembly. And we are going to talk this out and work this out. But we need leadership in a conversation here, Robes, because this is dividing people. What's supposed to happen to these young ladies?
00:17:33
Speaker 2: Right. If they get punished, then are they martyred by folks who think they did nothing wrong? Who would do that? Does it create a further divide where people say freedom of speech? What happened to that? Look, look, I can just see people. Obviously, there is a line that was clearly crossed from free speech to deliberate harassment.
00:17:52
Speaker 1: Yes, this is different.
00:17:54
Speaker 2: Deliberate harassment. There is a difference, obviously. But I just... Look, I agree. I would think the best punishment possible would be for these two girls to have to publicly apologize. To have to talk about why they did what they did. How they understand what they did.
00:18:11
Speaker 1: That's a good one, baby.
00:18:12
Speaker 2: That would be, to me, the best healing way forward.
00:18:15
Speaker 1: You want to get expelled or you want to do this?
00:18:17
Speaker 2: Exactly.
00:18:18
Speaker 1: That's not bad, baby. I just... I am not a fan of total cancellation. I'm not a fan of throwing people away when they make mistakes. I'm not a fan of that. I would like to hear something. Is this an excuse? Is this the worst thing ever? It's pretty damn bad. Would we be thinking differently if they just walked by and yelled the N-word?
00:18:39
Speaker 2: Right?
00:18:39
Speaker 1: Would the university look at that any differently? Would you, if you're listening here, would you take that any differently? No, I wouldn't. I don't know.
00:18:46
Speaker 2: To me, it's the same.
00:18:47
Speaker 1: I just, I don't. What do you do with these two? Just two years ago, 2024, protest, pro-Palestinian demonstration, and they had a clash of protesters and counter-protesters out there. And sure enough, this was on video as well. And there was a young black lady who was standing there, a sea of white people just yelling at her, if you will. And sure enough, one of the guys, you see him on video, even more demonstrative in making ape gestures and movements and sounds, right? They see it. OK, the university puts a statement out at the time. We're not going to read this whole thing. But the first line, I say, wait a minute. They just dust this thing off robes waiting for the next incident.
00:19:27
Speaker 2: I mean, this is concerning. They have a blanket. I'm laughing. Sorry for the racist actions of our students. Comment ready to go. But yes, they said university leaders are aware that some statements made were, quote, offensive, hurtful and unacceptable.
00:19:43
Speaker 1: OK, that was 2024 after that incident. Rose, go back. How did they start this one?
00:19:48
Speaker 2: They said, the university is aware of a video depicting offensive, hurtful, and unacceptable behaviors.
00:19:54
Speaker 1: The same words in the same order about the same thing. Did they really just dust this off?
00:20:01
Speaker 2: Yes, they were made aware of a video instead of being made aware of some statements.
00:20:06
Speaker 1: Offensive, hurtful, and unacceptable. It's so hard. That's hilarious.
00:20:11
Speaker 2: It's lazy and it shows exactly what's going on. It's like a rubber stamp.
00:20:16
Speaker 1: We're ready for it. When is the next one coming? Okay, I just found that absolutely hilarious. But last few things I want to leave folks with, Robes, and people will remember the most recent incident of this was the president.
00:20:28
Speaker 2: Yes. President Trump on Truth Social ended a video that had an AI-generated image of... Michelle and Barack Obama as apes. And it took him a while to take it down. He claims he didn't know that was at the end, but he eventually did remove it. But look, the damage was done. The President of the United States put a video up on his Truth Social account that depicted A former president of the United States and the former first lady, the only and first and only black first couple. Apes. Depicted as apes.
00:21:08
Speaker 1: Okay, people went crazy. He eventually took that down, but it took him a while for folks to convince him to get that one down. But the backlash was instant and widespread. I forgot about this one, Roseanne Barr called Valerie Jarrett says she looked like she was half ape, a part ape.
00:21:22
Speaker 2: Yeah, something about her and something had a child. It'd be a Planet of the Apes character or something like that. I actually just listened because I had completely forgotten about that to her tearful apology saying she never knew. She wasn't trying to make a comparison. She has family members who are African-American. She's not a racist. She's just sobbing. I mean, she was canceled.
00:21:44
Speaker 1: Okay, is it possible that there are people listening to us that do not understand you shouldn't do this And why?
00:21:53
Speaker 2: No, I think that anyone who has a moral compass, and I would say I would hope that's most people. I am somebody, and again, maybe it's naive, but who believe that most people know better. And however they might want to justify it based on experiences they've had. Okay, like you said, we're listening. But I don't see how you can honestly look at anyone in the face and justify that this is an appropriate way to handle anger or conflict.
00:22:24
Speaker 1: But do they not know? Are there people who genuinely are confused and go, wait, what? I didn't know you couldn't do that.
00:22:32
Speaker 2: To not compare a human being to an animal?
00:22:34
Speaker 1: To a black person to an animal.
00:22:36
Speaker 2: Specifically a black person to an animal. I think every person knows better. You think so? I do.
00:22:42
Speaker 1: There was another incident. If you don't know this, go back and look it up. Go back and look at the Vogue cover that included LeBron James and Gisele Bundchen. Supermodel and superstar athlete. After you look up that cover, look up the cover to the original King Kong movie.
00:23:03
Speaker 2: Oh. Oh. Yeah.
00:23:07
Speaker 1: That got all confused. Kinds of hell. He was the first black man to ever be on the cover of Oak. And many thought they took the opportunity to depict him as an angry ape who was running off with a white woman. That was hard to see how somebody in the room didn't get that. Robes, how many times do we say this? You have no black people on your staff anywhere? Diversity to raise their hand and say, hey guys, we might get in trouble on this one. Remember the cartoon thing with Target? Remember the Halloween costume? Like there are things you can't believe slide through.
00:23:43
Speaker 2: That no one recognizes that. Yes.
00:23:45
Speaker 1: You're still looking at that cover?
00:23:46
Speaker 2: Yeah, because LeBron, I mean, he looks like I'm not even used to him seeing. Like with his muscles flexing. Bared teeth. He looks like he is roaring.
00:23:58
Speaker 1: Yes, he does.
00:23:59
Speaker 2: And I just don't normally, and then Giselle, yes. Oh, wow. I honestly don't even remember that.
00:24:06
Speaker 1: Ah, okay. Last thing we'll leave you with here, folks. We say this goes back, and this goes back to the origins of our country. You just, it's been done, Robes, repeatedly. to justify the mistreatment and keeping black people enslaved. You have to yourself morally justify that you're able to do it. And the reason I'm able to do it is because those people I am enslaving are inferior. They are ape-like. And I'm quoting now, as uniformly as it is the preference of the orangutan for the black women over those of their own species. I advance it therefore as suspicion only that the blacks, whether originally a distinct race or made distinct by time and circumstances, are inferior to the whites in the endowments both of body and mind. Written by the great Thomas Jefferson. Who was, yes, someone who enslaved people. Robes, this is who we are. This is what we do. We need to understand it. But you cannot, please don't get mad at black folks. When our hearts are broken, when we see a 20-year-old, the future of the country, still behaving like the past we're trying to get rid of, that's all. That's all.
00:25:33
Speaker 2: Nothing else needs to be said.
00:25:35
Speaker 1: That's all.
00:25:38
Speaker 2: I think that that is as plain as it gets. That is where so much of this is rooted, and those girls probably don't even know what Thomas Jefferson said, but it's been carried down generation to generation, and we have to wake up and acknowledge that words hurt, that those types of actions aren't just silly or something to be laughed off. This is painful and this needs to stop. Period. So we shall see what Ole Miss decides to do or not.
00:26:15
Speaker 1: By the way, the nickname Ole Miss is from slave days. That's what enslaved folks used to call the woman who was the head of the house to make a distinction between her and the younger women of the house. The Ole Miss. The Ole Miss. Their name, their literal nickname is based in some bullshit.
00:26:33
Speaker 2: Man. history is important isn't it alright and with that everyone we always appreciate you listening to us I'm Amy Robach alongside DJ Holmes we'll talk soon