Olivia Jade Giannulli apparently realized she wasnt doing herself or her embattled mother Lori Loughlin any favors by posting an Instagram photo that showed her flipping off the media who have been covering their alleged role in the nationwide college admissions scandal.
The 19-year-old social media influencer deleted the controversial photo, Page Six and other outlets reported. She did so several days after a federal judge in Boston imposed a 14-day prison sentence on actress Felicity Huffman, signaling that she intends to make an example of some of the wealthy parents charged with bribing their childrens way into top U.S. colleges.
Olivia Jade Giannulli posted the photo in August in defiance of her attorneys wishes, Us Weekly reported. The photo showed the daughter of the former “Full House” actress and fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli sticking up her two middle fingers.
Olivia Jade tagged the names of media outlets in the caption, in an apparent sneer of their stories that cite “close” sources to describe how she and her family are having difficulty coping with the scandal.
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This just in. #CommentsByCelebs
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After posting the photo, attorneys for the family begged her to stay off social media, according to Us Weekly. “Her lawyers begged her not to post anything … because prosecutors are going to question her about it and show everything to the jury,” one of those sources told Us Weekly.
Olivia Jades Instagram account now shows more upbeat photos, including one of her when she was a baby with Loughlin, in honor of her mothers 55th birthday.
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one day late. happy birthday. i love you so much
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Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli are charged with paying $500,000 in bribes to William “Rick” Singer and his alleged co-conspirators at the University of Southern California to have Olivia Jade and her sister Isabella Giannulli, 21, falsely designated as crew team athletes. The Bel Air couple have pleaded not guilty and want to take their case to trial but face a maximum of 40 years in prison if convicted.
According to court documents, Olivia Jade and Isabella did not have the grades to get into USC and had never participated in crew. Olivia Jade Giannulli herself said on YouTube that she wasnt that into academics. She appeared to be much more interested in building a lucrative career endorsing makeup products on her Instagram account and YouTube channel than on getting the grades needed to get into USC.
For the fake athletic profiles to get into USC, the sisters posed for photos on rowing machines, court filings show. They each were admitted to USC and were full-time students. However, after their parents were arrested, they stopped going to classes. But as last reported, they still are officially enrolled as students until USC reviews the applications of students whose parents have been charged in the scandal.
Of the 35 wealthy parents charged in the scandal, Huffman was thought to have a good chance at avoiding prison time and getting probation. Thats because she took a plea deal a month after her arrest, accepted responsibility and expressed shame and remorse in a public statement and to the court last week, legal experts said.
Huffman also was charged with only paying $15,000 to Singer to get one daughters SAT score boosted. The dollar amount of criminal “exposure” in a case affects the lengths of sentences in federal cases, legal experts say. So does a defendants decision take a plea deal. When Loughlin and Giannulli rejected plea deals, prosecutors indicted them on more Read More – Source
