Felicity Huffman pleads guilty in college admissions scam
Actress agrees to plead guilty in nationwide college admissions cheating scandal.
Weeks after a visibly exhausted Felicity Huffman was spotted outside of a courtroom after posting a $250,000 bond for her alleged involvement in a nationwide college admissions scandal, the former "Desperate Housewives" star is speaking out about her shame — and her newly released public statement about the incident has garnered a variety of responses online.
The 56-year-old isn't shying away from the charge brought against her, revealing on Monday that she is going to accept "full responsibility" and plead guilty. Huffman was accused of paying $15,000 disguised as a charitable donation so her daughter could take part in a college entrance-exam cheating scam, according to court documents.
On Monday, Huffman insisted that her daughter was unaware of her actions and acknowledged that she "betrayed" her trust, as well as her fans.
"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," Huffman said, in part, in a statement obtained by Fox News. "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, and to their parents who make tremendous sacrifices to support their children and do so honestly."
When news of the scandal broke in early March, fans didn't hold back their opinions. Many celebrities roasted Huffman and "Full House" star Lori Loughlin for their alleged schemes, using memes and scenes from the actresses' various popular TV shows to drive home their points.
But Monday's response to Huffman's apology was far different from weeks prior — some thanked Huffman for taking responsibility for her actions, though some still criticized the actress and called for harsh punishment.
Michael Buckley, a popular vlogger, called it a "heck of a good apology statement."
Dave Quinn, who states on his Twitter profile that he's a news reporter for People, responded to Huffman's statement with a caption that read: "Apology accepted, Felicity Huffman!"
"A lot of people could learn from this apology. Nice to see someone take actual responsibility for doing something wrong," a woman replied to a breaking news tweet.
"The apology statement also contained no excuses. That’s important too," another pointed out.
Others, too, applauded Huffman's remarks, though they said it doesn't erase what she purportedly did.
"I appreciate her apology and she's now doing the right thing. However, that doesn't change the fact that until she was caught she was ok, more than ok, with cheating a deserving child of their deserved education," one Twitter user argued.
"In fairness to #FelicityHuffman, this is as good an apology as one could write. She should still suffer consequences beyond just a fine (which would be of no consequence to her), but her apology comes off as thoughtful and reflective and all-encompassing," another wrote.
"I know it’s easy to drag Felicity Huffman at this point, but this is a good apology. That said, our society has a weird obsession about browbeating people into apologizing. If/when apology comes, it’s never good enough for everyone," a third user observed.
But some fans claimed it wasn't good enough, and said they expected more.
"Instead of giving an empty apology, Felicity Huffman should donate her time to helping push for better public education in poverty-stricken neighborhoods, and donate her money to students who can't afford college. That's what a real apology would look like!" a Twitter user exclaimed.
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"Going forward, Felicity Huffman could make good on this apology by using her wealth and privilege to advance discussions about reparations in the educational space," a user chimed in.
"They going to jail or what?" another asked.
"Why are we congratulating Huffman for properly apologizing? This is the very least she can do," a fan debated.
"An apology doesn't right a wrong. But a good apology CAN do wonders. She's owning what she did and showing she understands the impact on other people: Her family and the wider world. She GETS what she did wrong," a Twitter user explained.
The Department of Justice announced on Monday that Huffman was one of the 11 defendants who was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud and has agreed to plead guilty pursuant to plea agreements.
Fox News' Sasha Savitsky contributed to this report.
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