Celebrities hit over hypocrisy in college admissions scandal
Lori Loughlin faces $1 million bond; Inside Edition correspondent Megan Alexander and author Ben Stein weigh in.
Lori Loughlin is not only out of a job, she also lost "a real family" along the way.
In a resurfaced February 2018 interview with Us Weekly the actress described how she had “a real family” on the set of Hallmark’s “When Calls the Heart.”
“I love everyone I work with,” said the 54-year-old at the time. “We have a real family. There are many levels to it that make you happy… I love the fact that it’s the same cast and crew and we get together and it’s like a family. I feel very blessed.”
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“And nowadays… things come and go so quickly,” the actress continued in the resurfaced interview. “You do two episodes and then they pull you because you don’t have a high enough rating or something. I feel like the fact that this show has resonated with people and keeps growing… [has] been really wonderful.”
One day after Loughlin was ensnared in a bombshell college admissions investigation and released on a $1 million bond, the actress was dropped by the Hallmark Channel on Thursday.
Back in 2016, Loughlin gushed to Fox News about how thrilled she was to be part of “When Calls the Heart,” a period piece about a young school teacher from a wealthy eastern family who migrates from the big city to teach in a small coal-mining town in the west. Loughlin had been part of the series since 2014.
“We have a community again, women coming together, children — lots of children are back in the mix,” she explained at the time. “And we also have romance. So it’s really a nice blend of many, many things happening at the same time.”
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“One of the things that I love… is my character, who in Season 1 when we meet her, lost her husband and her son in a tragic accident, is united with an 8-year-old orphan,” she continued. And she takes him in. I really like that because even though we’re set in the early 1900s and it’s a period piece, I think that it speaks to a lot of single women out there. Because now my character is not involved with anyone but brings in a child and starts the role of parenting all over again. I think that’s relatable to a lot of single moms out there.”
On Thursday, a rep for Crown Media — the umbrella group that includes the Hallmark Channel — confirmed to Fox News that the company has cut ties with the 54-year-old star.
"We are saddened by the recent news surrounding the college admissions allegations," the statement read. "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."
Crown Media also added that the series, "When Calls the Heart," will not be airing on Sunday, March 17.
"We are evaluating all creative options related to 'When Calls the Heart' series," the company stated.
HALLMARK CHANNEL DROPS LORI LOUGHLIN
When reached by Fox News, a rep for Loughlin said that they "have no information to share."
Loughlin and the Hallmark Channel were deeply intertwined. She's been among its so-called "Christmas queens" toplining a slate of popular holiday movies, and also starred in the ongoing "Garage Sale Mysteries" movies.
The company initially took a wait-and-see approach after a federal investigation of the scheme, in which several dozen prominent parents have been implicated, came to light earlier this week. Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, are accused of paying bribes to secure their daughters' admissions to top college programs.
On Wednesday, the "Full House" star was taken into custody over her alleged connection to the scheme. She was released later that day on a $1 million bond.
As part of her bond arrangement, Loughlin is being permitted to travel within the continental U.S. as well as British Columbia, where she is currently filming. She will have to surrender her passport in November when her projects are expected to wrap.
Actor Lori Loughlin appears in this court sketch at a hearing for a racketeering case involving the allegedly fraudulent admission of children to elite universities, at the U.S. federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 13, 2019. REUTERS/Mona Shafer Edwards NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE. - RC1430C91200
On Tuesday, Giannulli appeared in court and was released also on $1 million bond, secured by the couple's home. The judge also ordered that Giannulli restrict his travel to the continental United States and surrender his passport.
Loughlin and Giannulli are accused of agreeing to pay $500,000 in bribes to have their two daughters designated as recruits for the University of Southern California crew team. This, though neither child had participated in the sport. Their daughter, YouTube star Olivia Jade, attends USC. It was not clear if their other daughter, Isabella, has attended the university.
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In this Feb. 28, 2019 file photo, actress Lori Loughlin poses with her daughter Olivia Jade Giannulli, left, at the 2019 "An Unforgettable Evening" in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)
Fellow actress Felicity Huffman, an Academy Award nominee, was arrested at her home on Tuesday for her alleged involvement in the scheme. She appeared in Los Angeles federal court Tuesday looking visibly tired, before posting $250,000 bail and surrendering her passport.
Loughlin, Giannulli and Huffman are all ordered to appear in federal court in Boston on March 29 for a preliminary hearing.
More than four dozen people have been charged in the nationwide scam, which is alleged to have placed students in top-tier schools like Yale, Georgetown, Stanford, the University of Southern California, UCLA and the University of Texas. A federal investigation into the matter – dubbed "Operation Varsity Blues" – has been ongoing for more than a year.
Fox News' Mariah Haas, Jessica Napoli, Sasha Savitsky and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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