Lori Loughlin’s youngest daughter, Olivia Jade Giannulli, sat down on Red Table Talk for her first interview since news of the college admissions scandal broke last year.
Host Jada Pinkett Smith warned her daughter, Willow Smith, and her mom, Adrienne Banfield-Norris, that the show could face backlash for having Olivia Jade on. She reminded Banfield-Norris that “this is a practice of compassion” before their guest walked on set for Tuesday’s show.
“I think that this has been a really eye-opening experience for me, and although there’s a lot of negative around it, and there’s a lot of mistakes and wrongdoings, it’s led me to have a completely different outlook on a lot of situations,” Olivia Jade said.
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The 21-year-old social media influencer noted that she chose an outlet to break her silence where she wouldn’t be attacked and “maybe could feel more understood.”
“[The show] feels really safe, but it also feels honest and it feels like we’re going to lay it all out here, and it’s going to be an open conversation which is really important to me as well,” she explained.
Banfield-Norris made a point of mentioning Olivia Jade’s “privilege” at the top of the episode.
“I just found it really ironic that she chose three Black women to reach out to for her redemption story… It’s bothersome to me on so many levels. Her being here is the epitome of White privilege to me,” she said.
The conversation got heated as Banfield-Norris expressed why privilege like Olivia Jade’s causes her to get angry when there is so much inequity in the Black community.
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Full House actress Lori Loughlin began a two-month prison sentence in October of this year. Her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, began his five-month prison sentence a few weeks later.
They were among dozens of wealthy parents who paid bribes to get their children enrolled at prestigious universities across the country. The two pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges earlier this year.
During the interview, Olivia Jade revealed that she hasn’t had any contact with her parents since they went to prison for paying $500,000 to get their two daughters into the University of Southern California.
“I’ve never gone that long without — I’m super close with my parents, especially my mom, she’s like my best friend. So it’s definitely been really hard not being able to talk to her, but I know she’s strong, and I know it’s a good reflection period. I’m trying to look at the positive in the situations, you know?” Olivia Jade responded when Willow asked how she felt.
The YouTuber then told the hosts she decided not to return to USC, where she was a freshman when the scandal erupted.
Olivia Jade said she regrets the entire college admissions ordeal.
“I felt so ashamed and embarrassed… although I didn’t really 100 percent understand what had just happened because there was a lot that, when I was applying, I was not fully aware of what was going on,” she told the co-hosts. “When I got home [from spring break], I just felt so ashamed.”
Watch the full episode of Red Table Talk on Facebook Watch below.
