Lori Loughlin on college admissions cheating scandal: any mom would have done it
While motherly love is all-encompassing and unconditional, (as every media outlet seeks to inform us) Lori Loughlin has arguably taken it too far.
Last month, it was revealed that around 50 wealthy people - including Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, and Felicity Huffman - had been indicted in a $25 million college admissions cheating scheme.
Per CNN, who have dubbed the scandal a "national conspiracy", well-off parents had enlisted the help of an illegal college-preparatory programme to get their children into elite private universities.
Good Morning America has reported that documents show that Loughlin and her husband reportedly "agreed to pay bribes totaling $500,000 in exchange for having their two daughters, Olivia Jade and Isabella Rose, accepted as recruits to the USC crew team — despite the fact that they did not participate in crew — thereby facilitating their admission to USC."
Loughlin now faces new charges and increased jail time - after turning down the plea deal she was offered - and is now reportedly realising the severity of her actions.
"It’s just taking some time for it to sink in that what she was allegedly doing could be considered illegal," a source told People. "To her, it wasn’t egregious behavior. Was it entitled and perhaps selfish? Perhaps. But she didn’t see it as being a legal violation."
The insider went onto detail that the 54-year-old saw her actions as nothing that "any mom wouldn't have done".
"This wasn’t her being obstinate," the source continued. "This was her truly not understanding the seriousness of the allegations."
Following the allegations, USC released the following statement:
"We are aware of the ongoing wide-ranging criminal investigation involving universities nationwide, including USC. USC has not been accused of any wrongdoing and will continue to cooperate fully with the government’s investigation. We understand that the government believes that illegal activity was carried out by individuals who went to great lengths to conceal their actions from the university. USC is conducting an internal investigation and will take employment actions as appropriate. USC is in the process of identifying any funds received by the university in connection with this alleged scheme. Additionally, the university is reviewing its admissions processes broadly to ensure that such actions do not occur going forward."
Loughlin and Mossimo are not the only celebrities to be embroiled in the scandal. Desperate Housewives actress, Felicity Huffman, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest-services mail fraud for paying Singer to change the test scores on her child's college entrance exam.
However, in a statement released on Monday, Huffman was decidedly more apologetic about her involvement in the scandal
"I am in full acceptance of my guilt and with deep regret and shame over what I have done, I accept full responsibility for my actions and will accept the consequences that stem from those actions," she asserted. "I am ashamed of the pain I have caused my daughter, my family, my friends, my colleagues and the educational community. I want to apologize to them and, especially, I want to apologize to the students who work hard every day to get into college."