Olivia Jade was just your average famous YouTuber with almost two million subscribers when it was revealed that her parents, Full House's Lori Loughlin and designer Mossimo Giannulli, were involved in a national college admissions scandal. (They were arrested for allegedly paying $500,000 to make it seem as if Olivia and her sister were rowing team recruits in order to secure their admission to USC.) She hasn't posted a new video to her channel since the news broke.

Here, four superfans sound off on how they feel about the scandal and whether they're still standing by the vlogger and influencer.


Nicole, 15

Do you remember how you first found Olivia Jade's videos?

I'm pretty sure I started watching her at the end of 2017. At the end of the year, she always did the "slang term" videos with her mom, and those would always be a lot bigger than her other videos. That was on my suggested [list on YouTube], and I clicked on it and started going through her channel, and I really loved it. She just seemed relatable and loving.

youtubeView full post on Youtube

Why did you decide to start a fan Twitter account for her?

I thought it was really cool that people were able to interact with somebody that they looked up to. I have a group chat with some of the girls on there—they're so nice—and [Olivia] will pop in every once in a while. It's so cool to be able to talk to her, and it shows that she really does care about YouTube and her fans and supporters.

How did you first hear about the college admissions scandal?

My mom had texted me about it. I didn't really understand the text too well, but she had said something about one of the women from Fuller House, and I was like, "Please don't let it be Lori Loughlin." And—sure enough. It was just a shock because even though a lot of people think that they know the influencer they look up to, you never really ever fully know somebody, especially those who are in the spotlight. I didn't really see it coming. But it all kind of makes sense because Olivia constantly reiterated that she didn't really want to go to college. I think that she said that for a reason because this would come out eventually. So I was shocked, but at the same time it almost made sense.

So you feel like she knew about it?

Yeah. I kind of do think that she knew about it. But I don't think that means that she necessarily wanted to go with it.

How do you feel like she has been treated since then?

It's honestly really horrible and sad, because even though it makes more sense for her and her family to get the attention, because they're in the spotlight, there were other people that were involved with this. Nobody really talks about those other people. She was getting all the blame for it. Everyone was tracing it back to when she talked in a video like, "Oh yeah, I don't really care about the education, I care about the football games and the parties," stuff like that. That came up again once this whole thing came out, and I don't really think it's right because she apologized for that. [Editor's note: This video has since been deleted from Olivia's channel, but a clip can be found in the video below.]


Do you remember what you thought when she first said that in the video?

To be honest, this kind of sounds bad, but I didn't really think anything of it. I truly think that she knows how important education is. I understand why people took it so seriously because there are people who can't afford it.

And how do you feel about her now?

I still 100 percent support her, and I know some people definitely don't agree with that. But I think that it wasn't her fault, to be honest. I think that she was more kind of forced into it. Something that's her parents' fault shouldn't affect her, even though it does.


Cinthia, 22

How long have you been watching Olivia Jade videos?

I’ve been watching Olivia Jade’s videos for about as long as she’s had her YouTube channel, so almost five years. I was looking for new YouTubers to watch, and I just typed in “YouTube intro videos” and Olivia’s channel popped up. The first video I ever saw was her first one, which was an introduction to her channel, and it was the only video on her channel at that time.

What do you like about her and her videos?

I like that she puts effort into making her videos. Even when she had her own things to do, she still made sure to put out a video. If she wasn’t happy with the way her video turned out, she’d apologize. I didn’t even know she was Lori’s daughter until she mentioned her, but when she showed her mom, it didn’t really phase me that she was already well off. I like that when she did "luxury" videos, she put a disclaimer at the beginning and end of her videos because she knows that not all of us can afford the same things as her. She also always tries to find dupes for products that she uses. She was never afraid to get out of her comfort zone when she was trying on clothes that didn’t seem like her style, and I love how that was one way she expressed herself and her personality.

Tell me about the time you met her.

I met Olivia on June 16, 2018, when she came to Austin, Texas, with Sephora. At this point, Olivia already knew who I was by name since I had been messaging her on Twitter for a few years, and she knew I ran a fan account for her. When I found out she was coming to Texas, I made plans with my parents (with a small encouragement from Olivia) to drive to Austin, which is about five hours away from where I live. Olivia knew I was going, so when it was my turn to meet her, she got so excited to see me that she started jumping up and down and yelled my name. She went up to me, and we hugged, and she said she was excited to finally meet me. We took some pictures and selfies. I gave her a small book with letters from her fans, and she asked if I wanted to be in her vlog. She introduced me on the vlog and then surprised me with a box of Sephora lip stains of every shade. It was honestly one of the best experiences ever, and it made me very happy to know that she doesn’t just act sweet and nice for the cameras.

When did you first find out about the college admissions scandal?

I first heard of the college admissions scandal the minute the news broke out about it. My internet friend told me about it, and at first, I thought she was messing around. I was shocked and speechless because it’s something I would have never expected from these celebrities.

Did her past comments about college ever bother you?

As a college student myself, I always understood why she always said she didn’t like school, and I don’t understand why people always got so offended, because I know that not every person likes school. She was just being vocal about it, but unfortunately, she’s getting a lot of backlash now due to the current college scandal.

"This kind of thing happens all the time. The only difference is that they got caught, and now they’re facing the consequences."

How do you feel about her now?

I don’t feel any differently about her now. I’ve been a fan of hers since the beginning, and she’s helped me through a lot of things personally, and I know who she is deep down. There are so many other people who have been involved in worse things and people still support them, so I don’t see what is so wrong about still supporting Olivia. Yes, her family and all the other celebrities did something insanely wrong, but it's Hollywood, this kind of thing happens all the time. The only difference is that they got caught, and now they’re facing the consequences.

Do you want her to continue making videos?

At the end of the day, that’s her choice. I would love for her to come back and make videos, but I do hope that when she does, that she addresses this whole situation properly and that she will gain respect back from the public.


Carli, 16

What do you like about Olivia Jade and her videos?

I've been watching Olivia for almost two years now. I love everything about her videos. She always has such a positive attitude, positive mindset, and her ideas are always so amazing and interesting to watch. There is never one video where I am not smiling throughout it all.

When did you first make your Twitter fan account?

I made my Twitter account for Olivia in January of 2018. I just tweet about Olivia, how much I love her and support her, as well as make new friends and even interact with Olivia. She is so amazing with her fans.

How do you feel Olivia Jade has been treated after the college admissions news broke?

I first found out about this scandal a day after it had happened. I was so shocked and confused. I truly couldn’t wrap my head around everything that I was hearing. I feel as if Olivia has been treated very harshly. Of course what was done was not okay, but she was not the only one involved. The comments I have seen under her posts are absolutely heartbreaking. No one deserves those words said to you, no matter what has been done. Companies that she was so close with dropped her in the blink of an eye. She never truly wanted to attend college, but her parents made sure she went. They took away the amazing platform she had built up for herself. She’s still a human being like the rest of us and deserves to be treated like one.

Did her past comments about college ever bother you?

They never did bother me. She realized what she had said and apologized and acknowledged how naive she was being. Everyone makes mistakes.


Sara, 16

Do you remember the first video of Olivia Jade’s that you saw?

I’m a big Full House fan. One day I was just watching videos related to Full House and Fuller House, and I came across Olivia’s video about the crazy Full House fan. I thought that video was so funny that I started watching her other videos, and my love for her just kept growing.

What do you like about her videos?

She’s such a genuine and down-to-earth person, someone that always makes you smile. Not to mention the fact that she’s so talented when it comes to makeup. I love learning all her tricks.

When did you first find out about the college admissions scandal?

I found out the same day the news came out. At first I thought that it was a mistake or a misunderstanding. But when everyone started posting about it I was like, Maybe it is true.

How do you feel Olivia Jade has been treated since the news broke?

It hasn’t even been proven that she had something to do with the bribing, so I don’t think people should judge or comment about things that we don’t know for sure. We all make mistakes, and this case is a pretty serious thing that I don’t think should be made fun of. Honestly, there are worse things happening right now all over the world that should probably get the same attention as this whole thing did.

I’m not trying to defend what they did in any way. I’m just saying that the amount of hate and disrespect that Olivia and her family have been getting, it’s just truly not fair. People are judging without knowing what happened at all.

Do you want her to continue making videos?

Yes, I don’t think everything she has accomplished should be thrown away because of this, especially if she didn’t have anything to do with it.