I really don’t know if this will be new information, because I don’t know how many of these updates about Lori Loughlin are for-real updates or whether they’re just “hey, we just read the entire indictment!” kind of updates. But Page Six had a story which I hadn’t heard before, which is that the FBI has a recording of Loughlin talking on the phone to Rick Singer about the $500,000 she and her husband were paying to get their daughters into USC. Singer referred to the money, in the phone call, as “donations” and Lori replied, “So we — so we just — so we just have to say we made a donation to your foundation and that’s it, end of story.” Singer affirmed. That’s enough for the IRS to come in and cause some serious problems for Lori and her husband.
Meanwhile, here’s something else I didn’t know. Not even a week after Operation Varsity Blues handed down 60 indictments, Olivia Jade Giannulli and her sister announced that they were leaving USC. TMZ got the exclusive, so I just assumed Olivia Jade announced it to TMZ, and that their exit from USC was basically an ultimatum by the university: leave or get pushed out. But now it looks like Olivia Jade and Isabella didn’t even really drop out.
The daughters of actress Lori Loughlin and fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli remain enrolled at the University of Southern California as their parents face criminal charges for their alleged participation in a college admissions bribery scheme. The school confirmed to NBC News on Friday that Isabella Giannulli and her younger sister, Olivia, were still students at USC, despite reports to the contrary.
“We have confirmed that both Olivia Giannulli and Isabella Giannulli still are enrolled,” USC media relations specialist Ron Mackovich told NBC News in a statement. “USC is conducting a case-by-case review for current students and graduates that may be connected to the scheme alleged by the government and will make informed decisions as those reviews are completed.”
On Thursday, TMZ reported that both daughters had dropped out of the school and faced a disciplinary hearing in which they could be permanently banned from the school. Other websites circulated TMZ’s report.
I mean, is this a distinction without a difference? Olivia Jade and Isabella clearly left USC and they’re not coming back. They must have physically exited the college before they filed whatever paperwork saying that they were dropping out. But it’s interesting from USC’s perspective, because maybe the college is going to make an example out of the sisters and move to formally “kick them out.” It’s a fight about who broke up with whom, really.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I read that they returned home. I would be surprised if Olivia had attended many classes anyway, not sure about her sister. Olivia doesn’t seem like she would bother herself with an official withdrawal since she didn’t even fill out her own admission application.
I’m late with this but….did no one think of going to community college and then transferring if you really want to go somewhere?!? Much less pressure and a lot less money.
In Olivia’s case she didn’t want to go to college at all. Her parents pushed her into going to a school she clearly wasn’t suited for.
*gasp* the child of a rich celeb go to community college? This was always about bragging rights and nothing more.
You mean, community college, where the plebs go to school lol? I doubt they’d even touch it. I know plenty of middle class people who look down on community college, so you can imagine what it’s like further up the economic ladder.
(Whatever, joke’s on them at the end of the day. Community is why I have three degrees and only $35K in school debt, unlike some of my coworkers who are are in the six digit range.)
Given mom and dad spent $500,000 on just getting them into college I doubt that money was the issue. That Olivia Jade is a piece of work. Who knows what the younger one is like since it’s all about the older one.
Going to community college loses two years of partying and USC networking which is all they wanted out of the experience.
Who cares? Can we just move on to meaningful appropriate punishment?
Don’t know much about Bella, but it doesn’t surprise me that Olivia–who once bragged about never going to class–decided to… keep doing that.
I’m honestly curious how all these kids who cheated to get in were performing in their academics. I would be very hard pressed to believe they were keeping up, and not cheating their way through school.
I’d love to know what Olivia was majoring in.
Me, too. I can’t seem to find it anywhere.
They or Olivia was probably pissed and called TMZ and used the term ‘dropped out’ not knowing that doing that required filing paperwork with the school. I mean….it’s not like they know how to do paperwork for anything anyway right …..The couldn’t call Singer to file it for them….Kwim?