"He, like, faked his way through it and then he started his whole business with tuition money."
Days before the alleged college admissions scam, Olivia Jade Giannulli spoke out about her dad's college experience.
The youngest daughter of Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli sat down for an interview with Zach Sang Show earlier this month and said that her dad "faked his way through" college. This week, Olivia's parents were taken into custody and let out on a $1 million bond each after court documents alleged that the couple paid bribes totaling $500,000 to have their kids designated as recruits to the University of Southern California crew team, despite not actually participating in the sport.
“He didn’t come from a lot, so it’s cool to see that he built it all himself,” she said of Mossimo, who has a fashion line at Target. “He has a really crazy story, in college he, like, built his whole entire brand and he wasn’t actually, like, I don’t know if I’m supposed to say this, sorry dad, ever enrolled in college."
"But he, like, faked his way through it and then he started his whole business with tuition money that his parents thought was going to college," the 19-year-old YouTuber continued. "That’s, like, such a different time. I don’t know if I was supposed to say that, but it’s OK. It's a cool story.”
During the interview, Olivia -- who has a 20-year-old sister, Isabella Rose Giannulli -- also discussed why she decided to enroll at USC.
“Mostly my parents wanted me to go because both of them didn’t go to college... I’m so happy they made me go. That sounds so terrible. They didn’t make me,” she said. “My sister goes to the same school and we're pretty much inseparable, so it was nice following in her footsteps a little bit, but I do like it. It's also cool to create content from a whole different side of things, like, in school.”
Additionally, Olivia credited her college choice to FOMO, or fear of missing out.
"I feel like I would've had weird FOMO from not going to college if all my best friends from my high school went and were, like, texting me, telling me how it was, all the parties, the school work, everything," she admitted. "I'd be like, 'What am I missing out on?'"
As a popular vlogger, Olivia gets comments from a lot of fans, many of whom ask about applying to school, something she said is "fun" to discuss.
“It’s the coolest thing getting DMs from girls being like ‘I’m applying to college right now, what did you do?’ It’s fun!” she said.
Following the alleged college admissions scandal, a source told ET that both Olivia and her sister are "devastated" and "so painfully embarrassed" by their parents' arrests.
"It's been mortifying and frightening for them. They love their parents dearly and realize they only wanted the best for them but they are starting to realize how very serious the charges [against] their parents are at their expense,” the source said. "[They] never expected their parents to be charged for any crime, let alone one related to them."
"They’ve always seen themselves as a good, honest family that works hard and follows the rules, but everything has changed overnight," the source added. "The reality of all of this has been devastating.”
A spokesperson for USC told ET that both Olivia and Bella are still enrolled at the university. "USC is conducting a case-by-case review for current students and graduates that may be connected to the scheme alleged by the government and will make informed decisions as those reviews are completed."
TMZ, however, reported on Thursday that the two have decided to withdraw from USC out of a fear of bullying -- with their parents' full support. ET has reached out to Loughlin's rep for comment.
Additionally on Thursday, Sephora announced that it's ending its partnership with Olivia in light of the scandal.
“After careful review of recent developments, we have made the decision to end the Sephora Collection partnership with Olivia Jade, effective immediately," the company tweeted on Thursday after receiving backlash from many customers on social media.
The alleged bribery has also had negative effects on Lori's career, with Hallmark Channel announcing on Thursday that they would no longer be working with the When Calls the Heart star, and have stopped development of all productions that she's involved with.
Watch the video below for more on the scandal:
RELATED CONTENT:
