University of Alabama student expelled after racist Instagram rants surface



ALABAMA — Harley Barber, 19, has gone viral for all the wrong reasons, according to WPIX. Barber told the New York Post she feels bad and is so sorry. She confirmed to the Post that she had been expelled from the University of Alabama and is heading home to New Jersey.

“I did something really, really bad. I don’t know what to do and I feel horrible,” she told the Post Wednesday afternoon. “I’m wrong and there’s just no excuse for what I did.”

The University of Alabama student is at the center of a firestorm, accused of posting racially charged videos on Instagram where she repeatedly used the n-word among other profanities.

“I (expletive) hate (n-word),” Barber allegedly proclaims in one video as she shuts off a running faucet in what appears to be a public bathroom. “I just saved the(expletive)(n-word) by shutting that water off."

After receiving backlash for that first video posted on what appeared to be over the weekend, instead of apologizing, Barber – a member of Alpha Phi sorority and a New Jersey native – posted a second video with even more shocking language, according to WPIX.

"You know what -(n-word), (n-word), (n-word). I don't care if it's Martin Luther King day!(n-word),(n-word),(n-word). I'm in the south now,(expletive), so everybody can(expletive) off, I’m from New Jersey so I could say(n-word) as much as I want,” she screeches while in a car with other laughing and rowdy women believed to be students.

Even though the videos – along with most of her social media accounts – have been deleted or set to private, the damage has already been done.

The University of Alabama issued a statement calling the remarks “ignorant and disturbing” and say they “in no way reflect the values of the University of Alabama.”

A spokesperson for Alpha Phi also issued a statement, condemning the video and confirming to WPIX that “Ms. Barber is no longer a member of Alpha Phi."

As of Wednesday, the videos have been shared and viewed tens of thousands of times on social media.

WPIX reached out to the University of Alabama and Alpa Phi for further comment on whether any action will be taken against other students seen and heard laughing in the videos but did not get a response.