Olivia Jade Giannulli announced that she is returning to YouTube after an eight-month hiatus following the arrest of her mother, Lori Loughlin, and father, Mossimo Giannulli, for their alleged involvement in the college admissions scandal.
“Obviously, I’ve been gone for a really long time and as much as I wish I could talk about all of this, it’s really hard for me to say this, just because I know that it’s something that needs to be addressed,” the 20-year-old social media influencer began. “It’s just, unfortunately, also why I didn’t know exactly when I should come back to YouTube but the reason for that is just ’cause I’m legally not allowed to speak on anything going on right now.”
Olivia went on to reveal that she’s contemplated making her return to her channel — which covered everything from clothing hauls to vlogs — but wasn’t sure if she should because she couldn’t speak on her parents’ legal proceedings. She ultimately decided that she had to follow her passion for making videos.
“I actually really, really miss it,” she told her almost two million YouTube subscribers. “I genuinely miss filming. I feel like a huge part of me is just not the same because this is something that I’m really passionate about. It’s something I really like to do.”
She admitted that she’s “terrified” to film the video but felt it was necessary to start the next chapter of her life.
“This is the best I can do and I want to move on with my life, not trying to be in a selfish way,” Olivia said. “It’s so hard because I’m not trying to make this about me or how I’ve been because it’s not the point of this.”
She concluded, “Moral of the story is I’ve missed you guys so much and I’m just really excited to start filming again and to start uploading. I really hope you enjoy the future vlogs.”
Loughlin, 55, and Mossimo, 56, were charged with mail fraud, money laundering and bribery for allegedly paying “bribes totaling $500,000″ in order to get Olivia and her sister, Bella, 21, “designated as recruits to the USC crew team.” The couple are currently facing up to 60 years in prison if convicted.
The fallout from the scandal led to Olivia losing a sponsorship deal with Sephora.
“After careful review of recent developments, we have made the decision to end the Sephora Collection partnership with Olivia Jade, effective immediately,” a spokesperson for the cosmetics company told Us Weekly in March.
A source told Us in May that Olivia was eager to make her return as a social media influencer.
“Olivia has been emotional in the midst of all of this and definitely wants to make a comeback and still wants to be a beauty influencer,” the insider revealed at the time. “She understands she needs to hide out for now and lay low, but she’s anxious to be back in the spotlight again and thinks that over time she’ll be able to come back.”
