Family business of Ole Miss student who made monkey noises outside black students door hit with lawsuit over racism claims

The family of the Ole Miss student caught making racist monkey noises and gestures on camera outside of an apartment shared by three black students is embroiled in their own legal battle stemming from racism allegations. Alaina Kunes, 18, one of three University of Mississippi students identified in the viral video shared over the weekend, publicly apologized for the incident Tuesday — but the backlash has cast a spotlight on her family’s Wisconsin-based automotive empire.Her father, Scott Kunes, is the former COO of Wisconsin-based Kunes Auto Group, which is currently fighting a lawsuit over alleged workplace racism involving one of its employees, according to court documents obtained by TMZ. The student’s grandfather also holds an executive position within the company, the outlet reported.Kunes Auto Group — which owns some 50 dealerships across four Midwestern states — was slapped with a lawsuit in August 2026 after Wisconsin woman Makayla Starks claimed she was subject to racism at one of its dealerships.Starks purchased her car from the Kunes Buick GMC of Oak Creek in early 2025 and went back months later for a complimentary oil change, TMZ reported, citing the court docs. After the oil change, the N-word was reportedly printed on a service sticker that was placed on her windshield.Starks, who identifies as biracial, said she cried in her car for 20 minutes after seeing the sickening sticker, Wisconsin Law Journal reported. At the time, the company said in a social media statement, “We are deeply disturbed and saddened by the incident that has come to light involving one of our employees and a customer, her sense of safety and dignity,” according to the outlet.“We want to be unequivocal: this behavior and the hateful sentiment it implies are absolutely against our values as a company.

There is no place for racism or discrimination within our dealership or community.”In the suit — which names the dealership and a man identified as John Do...