She's at least 1/2 Italian:
[quote][bold]Harley Barber mom: I agree with Alabama expulsion over racist Instagram videos[/bold]
[quote]Jill Barbera, the estranged mother of the college student from New Jersey who was kicked out of school after videos of her racist rants went viral, said Thursday that she supports the University of Alabama's decision to give her daughter the boot.
[quote]"I agree with the punishment," said Barbera, whose daughter earned national scorn for repeatedly using the n-word in an Instagram video. "I fully support their decision." (Editor's Note: [italic]The mother's last name is Barbera with an extra "a"[/italic]).
[quote]"This is not a reflection of how she was raised. She's just degrading herself and it breaks my heart," Barbera said. "I hope someone can look at this and learn. I don't want anyone to feel what I feel."
[quote][bold]Barbera said her 19-year-old daughter hasn't lived with her since December 2016, when she kicked the teen out of the house after months of arguing. Barber has lived with her father's mother since.[/bold]
[quote]Efforts to reach the now-former University of Alabama freshman by phone and at two addresses on Thursday were not successful. She told the New York Post on Wednesday that she was "so sorry."
[quote]"I did something really, really bad," Barber told The Post. "I don't know what to do and I feel horrible. I'm wrong and there's just no excuse for what I did."
[quote]Barbera hopes that Barber can understand the severity of her actions, and make changes to her life moving forward.
[quote]"I love my kid. I wish this never happened for everyone involved," she said. "I can't apologize for her actions, and I won't. But I'll apologize for the pain it caused people."
[quote]Barber posted the videos to her "finsta," or fake Instagram, a type of account users make to share unfiltered photos and videos with their friends. In the two clips, she is heard saying "I (expletive) hate (n-word)," that she doesn't "care if it's Martin Luther King Day" and that she can say the n-word however much she pleases.
[quote]Barbera she's worried not just for Barber and her safety, but also for her younger daughter, who still has years of school left in a town that likely won't forget the sensational incident. She also said she's received threatening messages on social media from people who insist the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and blame her for Barber's actions.
[quote]"How do you tell a 10-year-old kid this?" she said. "I really want people to know that I am not sitting hugging Harley on the couch saying, 'It's okay.'"
[quote]Barbera said she talked to Barber briefly on the phone Wednesday night -- the first contact the two have spoken had in a year.
[quote]While the mother and daughter have had their difficulties, Barbera said she had never heard the teenager make racially disparaging statements, and that she didn't raise her daughter to hold such views. She hopes her daughter can overcome the incident.
I feel bad that the mother is getting threats.