The White House criticized the sharing of a video showing University of Mississippi students imitating a monkey to taunt a Black protester at a pro-Palestine protest. Republican Congressman Mike Collins shared it on social media.
The video, which became very popular last week, displayed a group of white men dancing and shouting at a Black woman who was demonstrating. Collins, who posted it on X, has acknowledged the potential inappropriateness of the video. since said He acknowledged that the video may depict some behavior that could be considered inappropriate.
When questioned about Collins sharing the video, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre disapproved of the idea of sharing it.
She stated, “Sharing that video is inappropriate for anyone. It is inappropriate for any elected official or leader to share that kind of material. The behavior in that video is not representative of who we are supposed to be.”
Furthermore, Jean-Pierre labeled the conduct captured in the video as “undignified” and “simply racist, period.”
“What we witnessed in that video is certainly appalling; it is appalling,” she remarked.
Ole Miss opened a conduct investigation Saturday into the incident, with Chancellor Glenn Boyce stating that the counterprotesters’ chants and actions on Thursday contained “hostility and racist overtones.”
And the Ole Miss fraternity Phi Delta Theta removed a member who was accused of mimicking a monkey in the video.