A subtle show of solidarity. Fuller House’s Candace Cameron-Bure, Jodie Sweetin and Andrea Barber reunited at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards and gave an inspiring speech seemingly in support of costar Lori Loughlin, who is allegedly involved in a nationwide college bribery scandal.
“You’ve been laughing alongside our family for four seasons,” Barber, 42, began as they accepted the award for Favorite Funny TV Show on Saturday, March 23. “And this family has a lot of heart.”
As Barber pulled Sweetin, 37, closer, Cameron-Bure, 42, chimed in. “And where there’s a lot of heart, there’s a lot of love,” she said, hinting at their adoration for Loughlin, 54. “And a loving family sticks together no matter what. They stick together through the hard times, they support each other, they encourage one another, they pray for each other, and they stand by their side, no matter how tough it gets.”
Cameron-Bure concluded her heartfelt message: “And a loving family that sticks together also celebrates the really good times together.”
The joyous occasion comes on the heels of news that Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, were among the dozens who were named and charged on March 12, for their involvement in the scam, in which they allegedly bribed prestigious universities in order to get their children admitted to the schools. (Giannulli was arrested that same day and released on a $1 million bond, while Loughlin was taken into custody the following day and also released on a $1 million bond.)
The When Calls the Heart alum and the fashion designer, 55, reportedly paid $500,000 in bribes so that their daughters, Bella, 20, and Olivia Jade, 19, could attend the University of Southern California. According to court documents obtained by ABC News, the girls were allegedly “designated as recruits to the USC crew team — despite the fact that they did not participate in crew — thereby facilitating their admission.”
Loughlin, who played the part of Aunt Becky on seasons 2 through 8 of Full House, and reprised her role for the Netflix revival, Fuller House, for four seasons, reportedly won’t be returning for the fifth and final season. The Hallmark Channel has also cut all ties with Loughlin.
“We are no longer working with Lori Loughlin and have stopped development of all productions that air on the Crown Media Family Network channels involving Lori Loughlin including Garage Sale Mysteries, an independent third party production,” Crown Media Family Networks explained in a statement on March 14.
Though he hasn’t officially spoken out about the shocking news, Loughlin’s onscreen husband — and longtime friend — John Stamos hinted at the tough time for their pal on Instagram that same night.
“For those of us who just need a good smile right now. Xo,” Stamos, 55, captioned a video of his 11-month-old son, Billy, giggling.
“I definitely needed this right now,” Cameron-Bure wrote in the comments section of Stamos’ post at the time.
