Olivia Jade Giannulli lied and cheated her way into USC. Her parents literally bribed people, and Olivia Jade posed for photos to fake her “rowing” credentials. Olivia’s parents, Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli, have pleaded guilty and they’re probably going to have to serve some time in prison. But they’re white people facing white-collar crimes, crimes which resulted in Olivia and her sister Bella taking spots at a college which should have gone to better students, minority students, or actual student athletes. There was and is so much white privilege around rich parents buying their kids’ way into college. Well, now Olivia Jade wants to harness her white privilege to speak about Black Lives Matter. *deep sigh*
Olivia Jade Giannulli was slammed for posting about racism and her own white privilege amid country-wide protests over George Floyd’s death while in police custody after her parents, Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli both pleaded guilty in the college admissions scandal.
“need to understand that just ‘not being racist’ is not enough,” the YouTube star wrote on her Instagram story on Sunday. “if you hear people saying disrespectful things. CORRECT THEM. Don’t sit there & allow this to continue happening.”
The 20-year-old then addressed her own privilege and how white people can fight systemic racism.
“As a person who was born into privilege based on my skin color & financial situation, i was not always aware that these issues were still so present. And that makes me feel awful. But that also fuels me,” she wrote. “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. 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.”
Olivia Jade’s post was met with criticism, with many calling out the influencer as being the definition of white privilege. “The college admissions scandal contributes to the sense of outrage felt by many who take to the streets and violently protest systemic entitlement, privilege and discrimination, while sweet lil olivia jade drops make-up tutorials like nothing happened. dumb, clueless and tone deaf,” a critic tweeted.
“SHES THE DEFINITION OF WHITE PRIVILEGE SHE CONTRIBUTED TO IT WILLINGLY…her parents cheated her way into a school and only got 2 months in jail..she is not allowed to speak on the matter,” said one more.
Others defended Olivia Jade for speaking up about the injustice.
“That’s exactly why she should speak wtf are you talking about 🤦🏽♀️,” one tweeted. “Yes she is beyond privelleged [sic] and she should use that and her platform to speak on the injustices going on in the world and how it’s time to start holding people accountable.”
I don’t want to “both sides” this issue but f–k it. I’m not going to yell at Olivia for TRYING. That’s all she did – she tried to speak about an issue and yeah, she came across as tone-deaf and out-of-touch and Becky-ish (like mother, like daughter). But I don’t completely hate the fact that Olivia tried. It’s better than so many alternatives, you know? I realize I’m setting the bar so low. But think of what so many young white women would be doing in that position: they would be “All Lives Mattering” or siding with the violent murderers hiding behind badges or talking over black activists. Olivia just posted her attempt at being an ally. It’s not good or bad, it’s just sort of neutral to me.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Olivia’s social media.
I respectfully disagree. This is not neutral. This is a sleazy scam artist trying to boost her profile by latching on to a trending topic.
THANK YOU. You summed up my thoughts most eloquently.
Exactly! These “deep thought” posts are the thing to do right now
Absolutely. Trying to boost her profile, normalize her and her parents’ behavior, and get us to forget about their crimes.
Amen!!!!
I thought she was cancelled by the entire world?
I’m not going to give her a cookie for this, but I’m glad she posted something. Yes the message is Becky-ish but it’s a first step. Her followers need to see this. Anti-racism needs to go “mainstream” (gagging as I type that), and we need to see more messages from people like Olivia as they stumble their way forward, however inelegantly.
I had a great conversation about this with a co-worker, reflecting on what I can do better as a white female. Basically, her advice was to fight the fight within our own circles as that’s the one place her voice can’t/won’t be heard. The problematic people in my circle are more likely to listen to me than her, and she’s totally right – those are fights I can, and will, have. So with this person, I see it (with my limited perspective) as a way of communicating to other white people of privilege who look up to her that might not otherwise be exposed to the voices of BIPOC. they need to hear from “their own”. Maybe it’s all self serving bullshit what she’s spewing, but with all those followers….it’s also likely there is some other person out there that is seeing this example and might be willing to challenge the racism within their own circles, or begin to reflect on their own privilege. The bar is low, but it’s better than retreating further into her privilege with a shrug that no one expects more of her.
She’s a child of social media, it’s all she knows. She didn’t even want to go to college. She was making over 2 mil a year being an influencer. Her parents were just living through her as they didn’t go or finish college. She will always be using any platform to try and get her status back. What’s an influencer to do if they have no one to influence? Reminds me of the end of Dangerous Liaisons when Glenn Close character was shunned by society. That was her world and her world was over.
I agree, I am neutral about her too. She isn’t helping or hurting she just wants her clout back. This won’t be the last post from her and I will continue to ignore her. But i’m not her target demographic.
She should have just sat there and ate her food.
😂😂😂
Hey. She acknowledge her white priviledge. That’s that. Nuff said
Olivia is doing EXACTLY what white allies are supposed to do. Or at least making the right sounds about it. Have no idea if she has actually followed through on her own advice.
Racism in America is a white person disease and white people need to fight the battle with their white friends and family.
It isn’t that hard. I loved my grandmother dearly but that didn’t stop me from taking on her racist bs in the 1980s (when I was a teenager). I still laugh that she insisted on calling Oprah “that Ophrey Winfrey woman” but damned if she didn’t turn that show on every single day.
I feel like…she’s posting exactly what she’s supposed to as a white person? Acknowledging her privilege and speaking out against injustice?
I already see a wave of judgement on social media about how precisely people address racial injustice and police brutality. It’s the kind of Tumblr nonsense I thought I left behind as a teenager, lol. I think it’s important to try, to show up, and to speak out. Personally — and I could be wrong — I think the most important thing is for white people to amplify black voices, resources, organizations, places to donate, etc. The second most important thing is to loudly support the Black Lives Matter movement, acknowledge our own privilege, and tackle racism that appears in our own lives with our family, friends, or employer.
I agree. Either she’ll start growing up and actually walk her talk or she won’t, but what’s the point of writing her off in advance? She didn’t whine about how all of this makes her feel bad or misunderstood as a blameless white person, so she’s already several steps of her parents.
Good for her, I guess. She has a lot of followers and this movement needs allies who are willing to speak up.
She “tried” because she perceives it as a “trend”. Period. Hope I’m wrong but…
Whatever her motivation was, if being actively non-bigoted is trending, I hope everyone jumps on that bandwagon.
Time will tell if she is trying to raise her profile, or is sincere. The proof is in the pudding.
I’m sorry, all I see is an over-surgeried nose and a head full of air.
I think she is an opportunist, thats pretty obvious.
But a white person with any kind of platform acknowledging and shining a light on the fact white privilege exists is good.
Even if her motivations are selfish, the fact still goes out into the collective.
She sounds very down to earth and honest about it – I think it’s good. How will we ever end racism if we are so critical and negative about motives – we’ll spend all our efforts on slamming people instead of on the issues.
I question how genuine this truly is. Throughout the entire college admissions debacle, she has come across as someone more concerned with herself and her perceived suffering than about anyone else.
Even though she acknowledges privilege, I have to wonder – does she really understand? As an influencer (gag), she picks up on trends – she must realize that she should be saying something like this given her background. However, does she care – at all – that her parents (with her knowing assistance) used their tremendous privilege to buy even more of a leg up, cheat, and squelch the opportunities of others who were more deserving?
I don’t think she simply gets a pass for not tweeting “alllivesmatter”. If she really wants to have a discussion about privilege maybe she should acknowledge her complicity about lying her way into a college she didn’t even care about. Maybe making a donation to help black students pay their tuition or something.