Operation Varsity Blues: Where Is Lori Loughlin Now?

Here’s an update on Lori Loughlin’s legal status regarding her role in the college admissions scandal, as shown in Operation Varsity Blues. The 2021 Netflix documentary explores the logistics of a fraudulent scheme orchestrated by American businessman Rick Singer, and how his wealthy clients offered “side-door” bribes to ensure that their children were admitted to elite academic institutions. In pop culture, Loughlin became the face of the collegiate scandal, even though she’s just one of over 50 people who were charged in the case.

Loughlin is best known for starring as Becky Katsopolis in the sitcom Full House. In 1997, she married fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, and later give birth to two children. Operation Varsity Blues explains how Loughlin and her husband paid Singer to help their two daughters get into the University of Southern California, with the narrative twist being that one of the kids, Olivia Jade, is a famous YouTuber who has been public about her disinterest in higher learning.

In Operation Varsity Blues, the Olivia Jade sequence anchors a first half commentary about modern celebrity culture. Whereas most of the parents in the documentary tried to protect their children from the truth, Loughlin actively conspired with her daughter in the scheme, and even tried to pass Olivia off as potential recruit for the USC women’s rowing team. Of course, Olivia’s counselor understood that she wasn’t a typical student but rather a popular YouTuber with famous parents, and then took the appropriate measures. Meanwhile, the FBI built a case against Singer, who eventually collaborated with the government in various sting operations. On March 12, 2019, Loughlin and Giannulli were indicted on counts of fraud, the result of a $500,000 “contribution” to Singer’s Key Worldwide Foundation.

In May 2020, Loughlin pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. She later received a two-month sentence, and served her time at the FCI Dublin in Northern California between October 2020 and December 2020. When Loughlin was initially sentenced, she expressed remorse for her role in the college admissions scandal (via People):

“I went along with a plan to give my daughters an unfair advantage in the college admissions process. In doing so, I ignored my intuition and allowed myself to be swayed from my moral compass. I thought I was acting out of love for my children… But in reality, it only undermined and diminished my daughters’ abilities and accomplishments. More broadly and more importantly, I now understand that my decision helped exacerbate existing inequalities in society, generally, and the higher education system, more specifically.”

Loughlin hasn’t landed any television roles since being released from prison. She last appeared as Abigail Stanton in a 2019 episode of When Calls the Heart, and also appeared as Jennifer Shannon in a 2019 episode of Garage Sale Mysteries. Her husband Mossimo began a five-month prison sentence in November 2020 and reportedly spent two months in solitary confinement (via Page Six). According to a March 2021 report (via Yahoo!), Loughlin is “concerned” about the release of the Netflix documentary Operation Varsity Blues, and stated that she “wants nothing more than for time to pass so people won’t be talking about the college scandal anymore.”

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Q.V. Hough
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Q.V. Hough is a senior writer at Screen Rant. He’s also the founding editor at Vague Visages, and has contributed to RogerEbert.com and Fandor.

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