Uncle Jesse is still in disbelief. John Stamos admitted he’s struggling to understand Lori Loughlin’s alleged role in the nationwide college admissions scandal.
“I gotta be careful,” the 56-year-old began in his GQ cover story, published online on Wednesday, August 28. “I want to wait until the trial happens, if it does, or whatever the result is, and then talk about it. … I’ll tell you one thing that has been strange is: Honestly I can’t figure it out. It doesn’t make sense.”
Stamos added that he “talked” to Loughlin, 55, “the morning everything hit,” but he still “can’t process it.”
He added: “Whatever happened … I’m pretty sure that the punishment is not equal to the crime, if there was a crime.”
Stamos and Loughlin starred as onscreen couple Uncle Jesse and Aunt Becky on Full House for six seasons after she joined the cast during season 2. They reprised their respective roles in the Netflix spinoff, Fuller House, on multiple guest spots before the scandal.
The Summerland alum and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, were indicted in March after they were accused of paying bribes to ensure their daughters’ acceptance into the University of Southern California as part of the crew team even though they do not play the sport. Loughlin and Giannulli, 56, are parents of Bella, 20, and Olivia Jade, 19.
The couple, who are facing up to 20 years in prison, pleaded not guilty in April. More recently, Loughlin and Giannulli attended a hearing regarding the government’s concerns over their choice of lawyers in Boston on Tuesday, August 27. Despite warnings from the judge, the twosome opted to move forward with their shared legal team from the firm of Lathan & Watkins, who has previously represented USC in unrelated cases.
Amid the legal battle, Netflix opted not to bring back Loughlin for the fifth and final season of Fuller House. She was also fired from Hallmark Channel.
Stamos, for his part, played coy about Loughlin’s chances to return to the sitcom earlier this year.
“I haven’t been on the show yet and it hasn’t come up, so I’m going to talk to some people about it this week and see what’s going on,” the You star told Entertainment Tonight in June. “I’m just going to wait a little longer before I talk about it. It’s a difficult situation for everyone involved. I don’t mean just on our side.”
The rest of the cast, including Candace Cameron Bure, appear to be sticking by Loughlin as well.
“It’s too personal to us and we would never want to talk about someone that’s such a dear and close friend,” Bure said on the Today show in April. “I’ve already said that we are family and we stand by each other and pray for each other and we’ll always be there for each other.”
