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Lori Loughlin’s Instagram-famous daughters have decided to withdraw from the University of Southern California — but apparently not because they feel ashamed that their parents allegedly bribed to get them admitted into the prestigious college, TMZ is reporting.
Instead, Isabella and Olivia Jade Giannulli won’t return to USC because they fear they will be bullied, sources connected to both daughters told TMZ.
The sisters, Isabella, 20, and Olivia Jade, 19, have the full support of their parents, TV actress Loughlin and fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, sources told TMZ.
However, USC officials have denied that the Giannulli sisters have left the school, according to a tweet by the campus newspaper the Daily Trojan. “@USC says they are still enrolled the university,” the tweet said.
A recent TMZ article claimed Olivia and Isabella Giannulli, whose parents were indicted in a recent college admissions bribery case, will not return to USC. However, @USC says they are still enrolled at the university.
— Daily Trojan (@dailytrojan) March 14, 2019
The Daily Trojan further quoted this statement from the university: “USC is conducting a case-by-case review … and will make informed decisions as those reviews are completed.”
If, as TMZ said, the Giannulli sisters had left USC on their own, they would avoid the scrutiny of officials who are reviewing current students and applicants whose wealthy parents have been charged in a widespread scheme to falsify college entrance exams or athletic profiles in order to help their children gain admission.
USC officials would likely have tried to determine whether Isabella and Olivia Jade were complicit in their parents’ alleged bribery. TMZ reported Wednesday that the school would expel students who knew they were admitted because of bribes. If the students didn’t know, the university would evaluate each student’s circumstance on a case-by-case basis.
The Giannulli parents allegedly paid $500,000 to William Rick Singer, who has pleaded guilty to charges of setting up a sham charity that funneled bribes to standardized test cheaters and university coaches on behalf of his rich clients.
Loughlin and Giannulli are accused of working with Singer to get Isabella and Olivia Jade admitted to USC on the false pretense of them being recruited to the university’s crew team. It’s not clear whether Isabella and Olivia Jade were aware of the alleged scam, though they apparently posed for pictures with rowing machines to be sent to USC’s subcommittee for athletic admission, Slate reported.
Loughlin and her husband appeared in federal court in Los Angeles Tuesday and Wednesday and were released on a $1 million bond.
Since news broke of the scandal, the Giannullis are among the dozens of affluent parents who have faced widespread condemnation on social media, cable news or on op-ed pages for using their wealth and privilege to allegedly give their children an unfair and illegal advantage in the college admissions process.
Loughlin and Olivia Jade, herself famous as a social media influencer, also are feeling the backlash professionally.
On Thursday, the Hallmark Channel announced that it was cutting ties with Loughlin, a longtime collaborator on two TV series and Christmas movies. The parent company said it would no longer work with Loughlin and has stopped its development of all productions involving her.
In addition to facing scrutiny over her admission to USC, Olivia Jade is facing repercussions in other ways from her parents’ alleged bribery.
On Thursday, Sephora announced that it had ended a cosmetics partnership with her, TMZ reported. Olivia Jade had promoted their products on her Instagram and YouTube accounts, which have a combined 3.3 million followers.
Previously, the Hollywood Reporter and Business Insider reported that there had been questions about whether high-profile brands such as Sephora and Amazon would want to continue their partnerships with her.
Business Insider and the Hollywood Reporter also had described how Olivia Jade appeared to use her status as a USC student to help increase her social media influence and possibly the profitability of her social media accounts.
The impression that the Giannulli family exploits its wealth and connections for unfair advantage only grew after TMZ reported Wednesday afternoon that Olivia Jade Giannulli had been traveling in the Bahamas on a yacht owned by Rick Caruso, the chairman of the USC Board of Trustees.
Olivia Jade is good friends with Caruso’s daughter and had spent spring break with her on the yacht. She also spent Tuesday night on the yacht, after federal prosecutors announced that her parents had been indicted.
Caruso, a major Los Angeles real estate developer, said in a statement to TMZ: “My daughter and a group of students left for spring break prior to the government’s announcement yesterday. Once we became aware of the investigation, the young woman decided it would be in her best interests to return home.”
This story has been updated to include the statement from USC about the Giannulli sisters’ enrollment.
