When I turned on my computer this morning, the last story I expected to see was “Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman Are Involved in a College Admissions Scandal,” but here we are. It’s 2019, and Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman are very much involved in a college admissions scandal.
Here’s what’s going on, according to CNN: A group of wealthy parents allegedly paid a college prep organization to take the SAT/ACT entrance exams on behalf of their children or to correct their answers. There’s also a second part to this scheme, in which college coaches were allegedly bribed into admitting wealthy students as recruited athletes, regardless of their actual abilities. Some defendants even had fake profiles created to make their children look like successful athletes, according to court documents.
Per TMZ, this was all funneled through a man named William Rick Singer, who would take parents’ requests—either to fix test scores or create fake athlete profiles—and contact the appropriate parties.
Fifty people total were arrested in this case, which federal prosecutors called Operation Varsity Blues: Two SAT/ACT administrators, one exam proctor, nine coaches at elite schools, one college administrator, and 33 parents with privileged backgrounds.
According to TMZ, Huffman, who played Lynette Scavo on Desperate Housewives, has been arrested but will be released on bond with the promise to appear in court. She’s specifically charged with felony conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud, per court papers. CNN reports Huffman is accused of paying $15,000 to an organization that helped her daughter cheat on the SATs.
Loughlin, best known as Aunt Becky on Full House, has the same charges against her. She and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, allegedly paid $500,000 to have their two daughters billed as recruits for the University of Southern California crew team, even though neither of them participates in the sport.
“There can be no separate college admissions system for the wealthy,” U.S. attorney for Massachusetts Andrew Lelling said at a press conference Tuesday, March 12. “And I will add there will not be a separate criminal justice system either.”
People, naturally, have so many thoughts about this case—and the Desperate Housewives and Full House jokes keep rolling in. Below, check out just a few reactions to this truly bonkers situation. We’ll update our post with more information as it comes in.
On Wednesday, 24 hours after news of the scandal broke, Lori Loughlin was arrested in Los Angeles after taking an overnight flight back to California from Canada. She faces a felony charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.
On Thursday, March 14, Hallmark announced it was ending its working relationship with Loughlin, who’s been a mainstay on the network for years. “We are saddened by the recent news surrounding the college admissions allegations,” Hallmark’s parent company Crown Media said in a statement, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “We are no longer working with Lori Loughlin and have stopped development of all productions that air on the Crown Media Family Network channels involving Lori Loughlin, including Garage Sale Mysteries, an independent third-party production.”
This post has been updated.
