Three White female students at University of Tennessee Southern are currently facing backlash online after appearing in a video using a racial slur.
The three students allegedly shared a video on a Snapchat account belonging to one of them while they appeared to be on a boat. In the clip, the three girls were heard screaming, “One, two, three, [n-word].” The video quickly went viral and sparked significant backlash online, with viewers condemning the language used and the behavior shown in the recording.
Internet users identified the three students, which led to widespread backlash and consequences for their actions. Following the viral spread of the video, all three were quickly terminated from their jobs. This came after their employers were notified of their behavior and the use of a racial slur.
One of the establishments that employed one of the students was The Rusty Spur Steakhouse. The restaurant released a statement confirming that the individual involved was no longer employed there. In the statement, the restaurant said, “We want to be clear: this video was not recorded at our restaurant, nor does it represent our establishment in any way. However, that does not change the seriousness of the words used. As soon as we were made aware of the situation, we took immediate action. The employee in the video is no longer associated with Rusty Spur Steakhouse.”
Another establishment involved was Lew Lew’s Gift Boutique. In a statement, the business strongly condemned the employee’s behavior and confirmed she was no longer working there. The statement read: “We were made aware of a horrific video involving a former employee circulating. The language & behavior are disgusting. The employee was terminated immediately.”
The final establishment involved was Hickory House Restaurant. In its statement, the business confirmed that it had also taken disciplinary action following the incident. It wrote, “Once we were made aware of the situation, we took immediate action, and the individual involved is no longer employed with our company.”
In addition to the employment consequences, the University of Tennessee Southern released a statement addressing the situation. The university said:
“UT Southern is aware of social media content circulating online that references the university and includes language inconsistent with the values of our campus community. We remain committed to fostering a campus environment grounded in dignity, respect, and belonging for all members of our community. We do not condone hateful or discriminatory language.”
Diverse Reactions Following Racist Video of Tennessee Students
The video sparked reactions online. Viewers were divided in their reactions to the video involving the Tennessee students and the consequences that followed. On X, some users defended the girls and downplayed the incident. One commenter wrote, “A word shouted while having fun and with friends, then see this video and try and ruin their lives is [expletive] weird man, some people need chill the [expletive] out and blacks are way more racist than whites this proves it ‼”
On the other hand, the video also sparked significant backlash on Reddit. There, many users argued that the students deserved to face consequences for their actions. Some commenters expressed the belief that the situation could lead to public fundraising support, with one person writing, “They’ll make a lot of money from a go fund me.” Another user wrote, “As a Tennessean, I’m both glad and extremely surprised that some of them faced consequences for this. Pulaski is the hometown of the KKK. We’re seeing conservatives gerrymander the state with willful disregard for the voices of any non-conservative voter. This is one small win for the state that is still deeply mired in racist, homophobic, transphobic, and misogynistic rhetoric.”
The video divided people online, with some defending the students while others strongly condemned the use of racial slurs and criticized what they described as clear racist behavior.
