Olivia Jade speaks out in first YouTube video since mom Lori Loughlin charged in college admissions scandal

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Monday, December 2, 2019
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LOS ANGELES -- In her first YouTube video since her parents were charged in a college admissions scandal earlier this year, Olivia Jade said she wants to "move on with my life."



The 20-year-old daughter of actress Lori Loughlin and fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli did not directly address the charges against her parents in the two-minute video, saying only that she was "legally not allowed to speak on anything going on right now."



"It's really hard for me to say this because I know that it's something that needs to be addressed," she explained, adding that she has debated returning to YouTube in the months since the scandal broke but wondered if "there's a point in coming back and not being able to say anything."



Before the admissions scandal broke in March, Jade regularly posted lifestyle content to YouTube and Instagram, where she had amassed millions of followers.



"I really, really miss it. I genuinely miss filming. I feel like a huge part of me is just not the same because this is something that I'm really passionate about," she said of her work on YouTube.



"I'm not trying to make this about me or how I've been because it's not the point of this," she added. "I want to start taking smaller steps in the right direction."



Loughlin and Giannulli are accused of paying $500,000 to get their two daughters into the University of Southern California as fake athletic recruits. Their daughters no longer attend USC.



Lawyers for the couple entered not guilty pleas on their behalf in November to charges of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery. Prosecutors added the bribery charge for 11 parents who previously pleaded not guilty in the case. Another 19 parents have pleaded guilty or agreed to do so.



The couple previously pleaded not guilty to fraud and money laundering.



"Desperate Housewives" actress Felicity Huffman was also among the parents implicated in the scandal. Huffman pleaded guilty to conspiracy and fraud for paying $15,000 to boost her older daughter's SAT score and served 11 days in prison in October.



Huffman and her husband will also pay a $30,000 fine and be required to do 250 hours of community service.



The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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