John Stamos continues to stand by his long-time friend Lori Loughlin as she navigates the aftermath of the Varsity Blues college admissions scandal. Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, were subjected to heavy-handed legal punishment. They participated in exactly the same scheme, to buy their daughters’ admission to the University of Southern California. Together, the couple paid a half million dollars in bribes. Those choices would result in their 2019 arrests and subsequent prosecution for fraud.
Loughlin and Giannulli both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud in May 2020. This plea came after a much further investigation. It resulted in the indicting of 53 people—mostly wealthy individuals—for attempting to bribe their way into undergraduate admissions. Loughlin’s daughter, Olivia Jade, and Giannulli’s daughter, Isabella, were both at the center of the bribery scandal.
The couple faced extreme legal repercussions. Mossimo Giannulli was served a five-month prison sentence and Loughlin a two-month sentence. Both men were held accountable for their part in the scandal. The case gained massive national media coverage, and they did their time because of it.
Just last week, Loughlin and Giannulli revealed they had separated after 28 years of marriage, adding to an already complicated and disastrous situation. John Stamos, who has known Loughlin for four decades, recently shared his support for Loughlin amid what he described as a trying time.
“Forty years I’ve known her. You can see through people after a few years. This woman’s a saint.” – John Stamos
Stamos reflected on his desire to be there for Loughlin during her struggles, stating, “I really tried to be there for her during this time, and with the college scandal. I’m not going to debate whether she had much to do with it or not. I know she didn’t.”
Though Stamos has publicly and privately stood by Loughlin, he’s left his mark on Giannulli in the past few years. He communicated those sentiments strongly in an unusual statement of sympathy for Giannulli’s plight.
“Look, he’s a very successful dude. I will never talk to him again. I pray that he gets a hold of his–whatever hole that he’s trying to fill, however he’s trying to fill it. I pray that he realizes that what he had was everything that anyone could ever hope for and that he gets some help.” – John Stamos
As Loughlin embarks on whatever comes next after her deeply public fall from grace, friends like Stamos seem essential to the community she needs. The fallout from the Varsity Blues scandal continues to shake the entertainment industry. It is a reminder of the duality of fame, personal choice and their impacts on public health.
