From Full House to Jailhouse
You’ve probably heard the news by now that 40 parents, including actresses Lori Loughlin from “Full House” and Felicity Huffman from “Desperate Housewives”, were charged yesterday in a college admissions cheating scandal. But what exactly did they do? Are they in custody? How does this affect Loughlin’s daughter Olivia Jade, a hugely popular influencer on YouTube and Instagram? We have all the juicy answers below as well as some late-night host reactions!
What did they do?
Here’s the gist of what went down yesterday. Basically, a number of parents paid upwards of millions of dollars collectively, to get their children admitted to elite colleges including: Yale, Stanford, Wake Forest, the University of Texas and the University of Southern California (USC). These parents were, for the most part, working with a man named William “Rick†Singer, the founder of a college prep business. He would either, as The Hollywood Reporter states, “have someone take the SAT or ACT for their children” or get “paid around $25 million in bribes to coaches and administrators to pretend client’s children were athletic recruits, thereby guaranteeing admission”.
In Felicity Huffman’s case, she and her husband, actor William H. Macy, allegedly disguised a $15,000 payment to as a charitable donation, and requested that their daughter get 100 percent extra time on her SATs and take the test away from her school. Loughlin and her husband (designer Mossimo Giannulli) on the other hand, have been accused of paying $500,000 to have their daughters Olivia and Isabella designated as crew recruits at USC, even though neither one rows…
Are They Being Charged?
Oh heck yeah they are. A judge agreed to allow Huffman to be released from custody on a $250,000 bond yesterday. Loughlin on the other hand, has not been arrested as she was shooting a project in Vancouver, but is expected to turn herself in to authorities this morning after landing back in Los Angeles, while her husband was released after posting a $1 million bond according to Global News. As of now, both Huffman and Giannulli are expected to appear for arraignment on March 29.
How Does This Affect Olivia Jade?
Although her previous knowledge of the scandal is unknown at this point, Loughlin’s influencer daughter Olivia Jade Giannulli is taking a huge hit. Olivia currently has 1.9 million subscribers on YouTube as well as 1.3 million on Instagram. She posts weekly vlogs alongside makeup, fashion and lifestyle videos, recently making her enrolment at USC very public, with videos titled “spend time w me at college!” and “COLLEGE DORM ROOM TOUR 2018”. Ever since the scandal broke, her comment sections on both YouTube and Instagram have been shockingly harsh and her brand deals may be in jeopardy. The Washington Post and USA Today documented a few: ​”Row row row your fake boat, right into USC! Merrily merrily merrily merrily, get kicked out with no degree,” “Can you do a storytime of scamming your way into USC?” and “So how did you get 1.9 million subscribers? Mommy pay for those too?” Olivia has since deactivated her Instagram comments and her status at USC will depend on whether the school can prove she was aware of the scheme.
It’s Already Made It’s Way Into Late-Night Comedy
The scandal has been making headlines everywhere, and has even become the newest material for late night hosts like Late Night‘s Seth Meyers who said, “It’s the worst thing Huffman’s done and the second-worst thing Loughlin has,” as a still of “Fuller House” flashed on the screen. The Daily Show‘s Trevor Noah followed up with “I’m so disappointed in you, Aunt Becky. I mean, I expected this from a desperate housewife, but you?” and “This story is so infuriating, rich kids should get into college the old-fashioned way — by their parents donating a library.” Kimmel also chimed in to continue his feud with Matt Damon, saying, “According to prosecutors, it was a nationwide scam with connections to the Boston area. And I have to say I knew: I knew there was a reason Matt Damon got into Harvard.”
Check out our list of the Top 10 Most Shocking Celebrity Scandals below!
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