NEW DRAMA For Felicity Huffman
One of the convicted actress’ former co-stars lashes out
Ever since she was named in the US college admissions scandal, those close to Felicity Huffman have stood firmly by her side. They include William H. Macy, her husband of more than two decades, and her former Desperate Housewives co-star Eva Longoria. But one former castmate appears to have denounced Huffman’s 14-day prison sentence as “white privilege”.
Ricardo Chavira, who played Carlos Solis in the hit drama for eight seasons, lashed out on Twitter, calling her sentence a “slap on the wrist”.
“White Privilege. And I saw eight years worth of it, so I know what I’m talking about. Accountability and Responsibility don’t mean s--t to these people,” Chavira, 48, tweeted on September 13, the day Huffman’s sentence was handed down by a federal judge in Boston. Yet it was weeks later, on October 8, that Chavira’s comments went viral.
The actor has also appeared in the dramas Scandal and Jane the Virgin, and Netflix horror-comedy Santa Clarita Diet, alongside Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant.
In another tweet, Chavira decried what he perceived to be white privilege on the set of Desperate Housewives. “I saw eight years worth of it working on Housewives. I’ve seen a lifetime of it being a halfbreed, and I’ve struggled [with] the intricacies of it on a daily basis [with] all the cultural bias I’ve received on both ends. But whatever. Slap on the wrist. Sorry, but this [is] s--t.”
Longoria, who played Chavira’s on-screen wife, Gabrielle Solis, has defended her former co-star Huffman. She wrote a two-page personal letter to the judge, calling Huffman a “gentle character” with a “kind heart” who came to her aid when she was allegedly being bullied on the set of the series.
“When I began the TV show, I was very new to the business and industry as a whole. Felicity was the first one to take me under her wing,” Longoria wrote. “I know I would not have survived those years if it wasn’t for the friendship of Felicity.” The widespread cheating scandal – which also involves 50 other parents, including
Full House star Lori Loughlin, exam proctors, coaches and college admissions counsellors – broke in March. Huffman, 56, was arrested at gunpoint and charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud. In May, Huffman pleaded guilty to paying to admissions consultant Rick Singer $22,000 to have a proctor change 19-year-old daughter Sophia’s SAT answers after the test. (SATs are exams used to determine US university admissions.)
As well as being sentenced to prison, Huffman was fined $44,000, ordered to
perform 250 hours of community service and spend a year on supervised release. “I think this is the right sentence here,” federal judge Indira Talwani said at the time. Speaking through tears prior to her sentencing, Huffman addressed the judge, saying: “I am deeply sorry to the students, parents, colleges and universities who’ve been impacted by my actions. I am sorry to my daughter Sophia, and Georgia, and I am sorry to my husband. I have betrayed them.”
Further, Huffman said telling her daughter Sophia about the cheating was extremely difficult. “I can only say, I am so sorry Sophia. I was frightened, I was stupid and I was so wrong. I am deeply ashamed of what I’ve done. I take full responsibility for my actions. I will deserve whatever punishment you give me.”
Loughlin could face a “substantially higher” amount of prison time than Huffman if convicted, according to the prosecutor in the Operation Varsity Blues case. Unlike Huffman, Loughlin, 55, pleaded not guilty to allegedly paying more than $736,000 to Singer for fraudulently securing a spot for her two daughters at the University of Southern California. Her husband Mossimo Giannulli, 56, is also accused.
US lawyer Andrew Lelling told news station WCVB he’d recommend a longer prison sentence for Loughlin than Huffman. “If she is convicted, I don’t think we’re giving away any state secrets by saying we’d probably ask for a higher sentence for her than we did for Felicity Huffman,” Lelling said. He also praised Huffman for taking responsibility for her actions and handling her case in “a very classy way”.
“I saw eight years of [white privilege]” — Ricardo Chavira