Harry Hamlin is speaking out about the college admissions scandal. The actor, who knows Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy and is “very good friends” with Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli, talked about the scandal’s impact on their children.
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“It’s a real shame mainly for the kids, you know?” the No Alternative star, 67, exclusively told Us Weekly on the set of Hallmark’s Home & Family on Monday, April 8. “I just feel very badly for the kids because they’re going to suffer the most in this situation and I’m sure they didn’t need to do it.”
He continued, “I mean these kids are not dumb, they’re smart kids. And for some reason they must’ve just, they were somehow attracted to the idea that they could have something on their resume that they probably could’ve gotten without having to go through these hoops, you know? So, it’s just a shame all the way around, and it probably will change a lot of things about how admissions are done now.”
Hamlin discussed where his son, Dimitri, 38, received his diploma. “I’m a legacy of Yale and my grandfather went there, my great-grandfather, my father, so they would’ve been a fifth generation legacy if they would have wanted to go. My son was accepted at Yale, but he decided to go to Princeton instead,” he explained. “The legacy thing could go away, I mean my son was brilliant, so he could’ve gotten in regardless if he was a legacy, and there was no legacy at Princeton.”
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Loughlin, 54, and Giannulli, 55 allegedly spent $500,000 to get their daughters, Olivia, 19, and Bella, 20, admitted to the University of Southern California as crew recruits. In addition to the charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, the couple was charged with money laundering conspiracy on Tuesday, April 9, according to a press release from the Massachusetts State Attorney’s Office. The pair are facing a minimum of two years in prison if they accept a plea deal from prosecutors, a source confirmed to Us.
Meanwhile, Huffman, 56, pleaded guilty to charges of fraud on Monday, April 8. The Desperate Housewives alum is accused of allegedly paying $15,000 to boost her daughter Sophia’s SAT scores. “I am pleading guilty to the charge brought against me by the United States Attorney’s Office,” Huffman said in a statement. “I am in full acceptance of my guilt, and with deep regret and shame over what I have done, I accept full responsibility for my actions and will accept the consequences that stem from those actions. I am ashamed of the pain I have caused my daughter, my family, my friends, my colleagues and the educational community.”
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The actress is facing four to 10 months in prison, according to Lou Shapiro, a state and federal criminal defense attorney in Los Angeles. Her husband, actor William H. Macy, was spotted in Los Angeles the same day she pleaded guilty.
Hamlin currently appears on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and No Alternative, which is available on demand on iTunes and Amazon Prime Video.
Reporting by Kayley Stumpe
