Olivia Jade Giannulli Faces Backlash for White Privilege Comments Amid College Admissions Scandal
Olivia Jade Giannulli faced a tirade of backlash after she posted about radical injustices following the death of George Floyd. Lori Loughlin’s daughter took to her Instagram Story on Sunday, May 31, to acknowledge her white privilege in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement.
“As a person who was born into privilege based on my skin color and financial situation, I was not always aware that these issues were still so present,” the 20-year-old former college student began. “And that makes me feel awful. But that also fuels me.”
“It makes me want to learn more and do more and be better for all my beautiful black friends and any other person who faces discrimination,” the influencer continued. “I’m not racist and I never have been, but I need to speak up about this because just not being racist isn’t enough. It outrages me. It makes me feel sick. It brings me to tears. THERE SHOULD NOT BE SUCH A GAP BETWEEN PEOPLE LIKE THIS. We need to support and stand up and speak and use our WHITE PRIVILEGE TO STOP THIS.”
Following her message, several social media users slammed her remarks and suggested her parents’ involvement in the college admissions scandal is the embodiment of white privilege.
“Olivia Jade on IG going on about white privilege … you mean the thing that’s keeping your parents out of jail and that fake got you into USC? I can’t,” one person wrote on Twitter. “Olivia Jade [:] The universal poster-child for white privilege,” another added.
Olivia’s remarks come shortly after she returned to social media on May 28 following her five-month break while her parents were under fire. Lori, 55, and Mossimo Giannulli “agreed to pay bribes totaling $500,000 in exchange for having their two daughters as recruits to the USC crew team,” according to court documents obtained by In Touch. Although, Olivia and her sister Bella, 21, never played the sport.
In March 2019, Loughlin and Giannulli were among the 15 parents indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud in connection with the college admissions scandal. They pleaded not guilty to the charges in April 2019, and again in October after being hit with additional conspiracy charges.
Although they were adamant about their innocence, they pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud on May 21, according to a press release from the United States Department of Justice. Additionally, Giannulli, 56, also pleaded guilty to honest service wire and mail fraud. Their court date was held on Friday, May 22, via video conference due to the coronavirus outbreak. Their sentencing will be held on Friday, August 21.
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