Loughlin’s daughter dumped by sponsors
Olivia Jade Giannulli was social media influencer before admissions scandal
Before March 12, Olivia Jade Giannulli was a powerful social media influencer still on the rise as a YouTube and Instagram star.
But Tuesday’s stunning announcement of a federal investigation into a college-admission fraud scheme has dramatically changed the narrative for the 19-year-old freshman at the University of Southern California — who goes by her social media name “Olivia Jade.”
Jade’s parents, “Fuller House” star Lori Loughlin and designer Mossimo Giannulli, whose Mossimo label has been featured at Target stores, have been charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Court papers accuse the couple of bribing college officials with payments totaling $500,000 to facilitate the college entry for Olivia and her sister, Isabella Rose, 20.
Here’s what you need to know about Jade.
How big a social influencer is Olivia Jade?
Jade has 1.9 million YouTube followers on her lifestyle channel, where she highlights her “strong passion for makeup and fashion.” Her Instagram page boasts 1.3 million followers, where she has promoted paid-advertisement posts from SmileDirectClub, the athome invisible aligner treatment, and Amazon Prime Student, which fully furnished her dorm room.
“Officially a college student!” she wrote in a September post. “I got everything I needed from Amazon.”
Jade had a longtime Instagram partnership with cosmetics powerhouse Sephora, introducing the $28 Olivia Jade Sephora Bronze & Illuminate Palette with the Sephora Collection in December. But on Thursday, a rep for the retailer, Emily Shapiro, issued a statement from the company to USA TODAY that said its working relationship with Jade was finished.
“After careful review of recent developments, we have made the decision to end the Sephora Collection partnership with Olivia Jade, effective immediately,” the statement read.
The product was no longer available on Sephora’s website by Thursday afternoon.
What do the federal charges against her parents state?
Federal prosecutors say Jade’s famous, wealthy parents facilitated her college entry with the bribes allowing Jade and her sister, Isabella Rose, to be listed as recruits for the USC crew team. Court papers make clear that neither participate in the sport.
Loughlin, known as Aunt Becky in “Full House,” appeared in Los Angeles Court Wednesday and was released on $1 million bail. Giannulli appeared in federal court Tuesday and was released on $1 million bail.
Court papers state Giannulli sent an “action photo” of Jade on an ergometer rowing machine to supplement her profile as a crew coxswain for the L.A. Marina Club. The profile was submitted to the USC subcommittee for athletic admissions in November 2017, which approved Jade’s conditional USC admission two weeks later. She was formally accepted in March 2018.
What has Olivia Jade said about college?
Pre-college Jade commented on a Twitter about her schoolwork, “It’s so hard to try in school when you don’t care about anything you’re learning.”
The YouTube star was in Fiji for work during her first week of college in August. She was criticized for a personal Q&A video she posted on her first day at USC in which she talked about the “whole college thing.”
“I don’t know how much of school I’m going to attend,” Jade said when discussing balancing her work commitments. “But I do want the experience of, like, game days, partying. I don’t really care about school, as you guys all know.”
After fielding criticism over the comments, Jade posted a “sorry” video in which she apologized to subscribers.
“I said something super ignorant and stupid, basically. And it totally came across that I’m not-grateful for college – I’m going to a really nice school. And it just kind of made it seem like I don’t care, I just want to brush it off. I’m just gonna be successful at YouTube and not have to worry about school,” she said in the video. “I didn’t mean it that way.”
How will this scandal affect her life and career?
Since the indictment on Tuesday, irate Internet commentators have filled Jade’s YouTube and Instagram pages with comments such as “Lock her up” and “Expel this cheater.” The comments have since been disabled.
Variety said Jade likely will lose her sponsorship deals, noting HP, which had branded the Sprocket photo printer with the influencer, had cut ties already.
What about USC?
USC’s Gary Polakovic of the Office of University Communications said in a statement to USA TODAY that the school plans to “conduct a case-by-case review for current students and graduates that may be connected to the scheme alleged by the government. We will make informed, appropriate decisions once those reviews have been completed. Some of these individuals may have been minors at the time of their application process.”