Lori Loughlin’s Daughter Olivia Jade Giannulli Apologizes, Explains White Privilege in 1st Interview Since College Scandal: Revelations

Credit: Facebook Watch

Lori Loughlin's Daughter Olivia Jade Giannulli Apologizes, Explains White Privilege in 1st Interview Since College Scandal: Revelations

Breaking her silence. In her first interview ever, Olivia Jade Giannulli opened up about the college admissions scandal that landed her parents, Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli, in jail and apologized in her Red Table Talk on Facebook Watch interview on Tuesday, December 8. “We had the means to do something and we completely took it and ran with it. It was something that it was wrong,” the YouTube star said. “It really can’t be excused. On paper, it's bad — it's really bad. But I think what a lot of people don't know is my parents came from a place of just, ‘I love my kids I just want to help my kids — whatever is best for them — I worked my whole life to provide for my family.’ I think they thought it was normal.” The Fuller House alum, 56, and the designer, 57, were arrested in March 2019 after being accused of paying $500,000 in bribes to the University of Southern California in order for their daughters, Olivia Jade, 21, and Bella Giannulli, 20, into the school as members of the crew team. The pair pleaded guilty to fraud charges in May. Loughlin began her two months in prison at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, on October 30. Mossimo started his five-month sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution, Lompoc, on November 19. They were also fined $400,000. Olivia Jade explained to Adrienne Banfield-Jones, Jada Pinkett Smith and Willow Smith that in the community she lived in, it was “not out of the ordinary” to do what her parents did but she was embarrassed to admit she didn't know about it. [jwplayer DAiUWDLz] However, Banfield-Jones, 67, wasn’t fully OK with her coming on the show to speak out for the first time. "She chose three black women to reach out to for her redemption story. I feel like, here we are, [a] white woman coming to back women for support when we don’t get the same from them," she told her daughter and granddaughter before Olivia came out on stage. "It’s just bothersome to me on so many levels. Her being here is the epitome of white privilege to me.” During the segment, she was honest and compared the Black community's fight for equality and equity to what Olivia had gone through. "I'm exhausted with everything that we have to deal with as a community, and I just don’t have the energy to put into the fact that you lost your endorsements or you’re not in school right now because, at the end of the day, you’re gonna be OK, because your parents are gonna go in and they're going to do their 60 days and they're going to pay their fine," the actress told Olivia. "You guys will go on and you’ll be OK, and you will live your life. There’s so many of us that it is not going to be that situation. It makes it very difficult right now for me to care.” Scroll through the gallery below for more revelations from the interview. [podcast_block]

Credit: Facebook Watch

Lori Loughlin's Daughter Olivia Jade Giannulli Apologizes, Explains White Privilege in 1st Interview Since College Scandal: Revelations

Breaking her silence. In her first interview ever, Olivia Jade Giannulli opened up about the college admissions scandal that landed her parents, Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli, in jail and apologized in her Red Table Talk on Facebook Watch interview on Tuesday, December 8. “We had the means to do something and we completely took it and ran with it. It was something that it was wrong,” the YouTube star said. “It really can’t be excused. On paper, it's bad — it's really bad. But I think what a lot of people don't know is my parents came from a place of just, ‘I love my kids I just want to help my kids — whatever is best for them — I worked my whole life to provide for my family.’ I think they thought it was normal.” The Fuller House alum, 56, and the designer, 57, were arrested in March 2019 after being accused of paying $500,000 in bribes to the University of Southern California in order for their daughters, Olivia Jade, 21, and Bella Giannulli, 20, into the school as members of the crew team. The pair pleaded guilty to fraud charges in May. Loughlin began her two months in prison at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, on October 30. Mossimo started his five-month sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution, Lompoc, on November 19. They were also fined $400,000. Olivia Jade explained to Adrienne Banfield-Jones, Jada Pinkett Smith and Willow Smith that in the community she lived in, it was “not out of the ordinary” to do what her parents did but she was embarrassed to admit she didn't know about it. [jwplayer DAiUWDLz] However, Banfield-Jones, 67, wasn’t fully OK with her coming on the show to speak out for the first time. "She chose three black women to reach out to for her redemption story. I feel like, here we are, [a] white woman coming to back women for support when we don’t get the same from them," she told her daughter and granddaughter before Olivia came out on stage. "It’s just bothersome to me on so many levels. Her being here is the epitome of white privilege to me.” During the segment, she was honest and compared the Black community's fight for equality and equity to what Olivia had gone through. "I'm exhausted with everything that we have to deal with as a community, and I just don’t have the energy to put into the fact that you lost your endorsements or you’re not in school right now because, at the end of the day, you’re gonna be OK, because your parents are gonna go in and they're going to do their 60 days and they're going to pay their fine," the actress told Olivia. "You guys will go on and you’ll be OK, and you will live your life. There’s so many of us that it is not going to be that situation. It makes it very difficult right now for me to care.” Scroll through the gallery below for more revelations from the interview. [podcast_block]

Credit: Facebook Watch

A New Outlook

Although the situation hasn’t been a good one, Olivia Jade explained that it’s resulted in her having “a completely different outlook on a lot of situations.” While admitting that it was completely wrong, she added that it’s important for her “to learn from the mistake, not to now be shamed and punished and never given a second chance. I’m 21. I feel like I deserve a second chance to show I’ve grown.”

Credit: CJ GUNTHER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

How It’s Been Since Her Parents Went to Prison

She said while it’s “been hard” to have her mom and dad both in prison, “it’s necessary of us to move on and move forward.” The Los Angeles native also shared that before her parents went to prison, they had many conversations about what happened: “There is no justifying or excusing what happened because what happened was wrong, and I think every single person in my family can be, like, ‘That was messed up. That was a big mistake.’”

Credit: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

No Contact

Olivia Jade hasn’t spoken to either of her parents since they began serving their sentences. ”There’s a quarantine phase because of COVID. I think that is the reason, but I’m not too sure. I just haven’t heard anything so I’m just waiting,” she said, noting it’s the longest she’s gone without talking to them, and it’s been very hard, especially without speaking to her mom. “I know she’s strong and I know it’s a good reflection period.”

Credit: Facebook Watch

How She Found Out

The influencer was on spring break when she heard about her parents’ arrest after a friend called and asked if she’d talked to her mom. It was then she chose to Google Loughlin’s name. “I was sitting with a group of friends and I knew any second, everybody was going to know too if they didn’t already,” she shared. “I remember freezing and feeling so ashamed. I went home and hid myself for probably, like, three or four months.”

While school was still in session, Olivia Jade and Bella's status' at the school were put on hold and they never returned: “I was too embarrassed. I shouldn’t have been there in the first place, clearly.” 

Credit: Facebook Watch

Having Privilege — and Being Misunderstood

While she lost endorsement deals, the beauty influencer said the biggest thing is realizing that what happened was wrong and that she finally can speak out and say that. “I feel like a huge part of having privilege is not knowing you have privilege, and so when it was happening, it didn't feel wrong,” the Marymount High School graduate shared. “I also felt very misunderstood. The picture that has been painted of me, I feel like, is not who I am. I’m not this bratty girl that doesn't want to change anything. Also, I understand why people are angry and understand why people say hurtful things and I would too if I wasn't in my boat. … When you read it, you realize that there's like some truth. I understood that people were upset and angry, and maybe it took me a little bit longer to understand what for, but man, am I glad I did realize.”

She later added, “I took my privilege and all my blessings for granted, and I never thought anything of it.”

Credit: Steven Senne/AP/Shutterstock

A Surprising Reaction

When she found out, Olivia “wasn’t angry” because she didn’t really know what happened. “100 percent honesty, when it first happened, I didn’t look at it and say ‘Oh, my God, how dare we do this?’ I was like, ‘Why is everybody complaining. I’m confused what we did.’ That’s embarrassing to admit. That’s embarrassing in itself — that I walked around my whole 20 years of life not realizing, like, you have insane privilege. You're, like, the poster child of white privilege and you had no idea. I think that although I’ve had a really strong relationship with my mom and dad my whole life, I was definitely confused when this call came out.”

Olivia Jade confronted her parents about it after the news came out and they both apologized, telling her they really messed up. “I know they’re good people. I know that I’m not gonna judge them for a mistake they made,” Olivia said. “Although it’s a big one, they’re gonna pay the price for it. … I know that they’ve struggled.”

Credit: Jim Smeal/Shutterstock; Alex Berliner/BEI/Shutterstock (inset)

Why It Happened

As for why her parents did what they did, Olivia Jade revealed she thinks her dad just wanted his daughters staying close to home, and he knew a lot of people that had great experiences at USC.

“My mom, really, for most of the time when I was applying to school — was in Canada shooting a movie. She was involved in my whole childhood but when it came to that, she was like, ‘Moss, you handle it, I’m out. I’m going to work now.’ She put off so much work to raise us,” the Tap That Awesome App alum said, before adding that she worked really hard in high school. “In their heads, it was like, ‘Everybody has a college counselor and I’m just gonna donate to a school like all my friends did with their kids,’ and I think what’s crazier is how so many people in our area don’t recognize that it's wrong.”