February 2, 2021 • 30 mins
In this RTT exclusive interview Olivia Jade, the popular beauty influencer and youngest daughter of Full House Actress Lori Loughlin and designer Mossimo Giannulli, breaks her silence on the college admissions scandal that rocked the nation and landed her famous parents in prison.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, fam I'm Jada Pinkett Smith and this is the
Red Table Pop podcast all your favorite episodes from the
Faithful Watch Show in audio produced by Westbrook Audio and
I Heart Radio. Please don't forget to rate and review
on Apple Podcasts. It was the scandal that sparked national outrage,
landed her famous parents in prison, and tore her life apart.
(00:24):
In March nineteen. Olivia Jade was a successful lifestyle and
beauty influencer, with major brand deals, even her own makeup line,
This is Olivia Jade. But during her freshman year at
the University of Southern California, Olivia's world came crashing down.
Her parents, actress Lori Laughlin known to a generation as
(00:45):
Aunt Becky from Full House, and fashion designer Massa Mogia Newley,
were arrested. I'm definitely ready to address some things. Her
parents were among dozens charged for bribing and cheating to
get their kids into top universities. We're here today to
announce charges in the largest college admission scam ever prosecuted
(01:08):
by the Department of Justice. Lori and Masimo had hired
college counselor Rick Singer, the mastermind behind the illegal college scheme.
The couple allegedly paid five hundred thousand dollars to get
their daughters in the USC. Olivia was at the center
of the scandal. She was vilified for her entitlement, fired
from brands, and removed herself from public life. Her parents
(01:32):
are now in federal prison. Today, Olivia is finally ready
to break her silence and address the controversy. Do you
have any understanding of why I would be upset at
your being here? It's like, child, Please, we are about
(01:55):
to meet with a young lady, m Olivia Jade. A
lot of people are gonna have a lot of opinions
about her story. She called and I wanted to come
to our table, um, and we all had very different
feelings about it. Yeah, yeah, you know. I fought it
to the nail. I just found it really ironic that, Um,
(02:20):
she chose three black women to reach out to for
her redemption story. I feel like, here, we are a
white woman coming to black women for support when we
don't get the same from them. It's just it's it's
bothersome to me on so many levels. Her being here
is the epitome of white privilege. Privilege to me, I
(02:42):
understand where you're coming from. But let me just be clear.
I never want to be the thing that was done
to me by white women. I never want to be there.
I also believe that these are the kind of attitudes
that feed the same thing that we're fighting. It's like
people look at us, they say you're black and your female,
and they automatically put us in a category. So looking
(03:02):
at her as being white, young, and privileged and then
putting her in a category, it's the same thing. So
I just see it as this cycle. It's not our
responsibility to raise her consciousness. There's gonna be lots of
people that agree with you, and we're gonna get heat. Yeah, Yeah,
we're gonna get heat. I also feel like this is
a practice of compassion. To me, this young girl is
(03:25):
reaping the repercussions of some actions of her parents. When
I heard her story, it just reminded me of Jaden
Willow and Trey. It didn't remind me of them at all,
it did for me as a parent. I'm like, oh,
I've been in that position with me thinking I know
what's best for my kids, and then they suffered the
(03:46):
consequence of it. So you think that she didn't understand
what was going on because they did the same thing
for her sister. Bottom line, we can't act like we
know exactly what happened. At the end of the day,
I really feel like she's gonna be okay, you know,
and she's gonna be harb But whether her aunt was
sitting at this table or not, maybe maybe not, that's
not something that we could say. It's like this, just
(04:06):
because you have privilege, it doesn't exempt you the fact
that Willow for so long suffered in silence and even
turned to self harming herself because she didn't feel like
she had a right to be hurt. I've had to
deal with that part as well. People go, your kids
are gonna be fine because they're rich. We don't care.
(04:28):
But that's painful and it's not true exactly. I feel
like Olivia deserves a space. Obviously you do because I
thought it. And guess what, she's gonna be sitting right there.
That's what this table is about. This table is about growth.
What I'm trying to do listening to both of you guys,
is I'm sitting in between the two truths and going, Okay,
(04:49):
there has to be a way that these can blend.
Just a little bit because both are a hud, valid
and true in their worlds. Feelings are what they are,
and that's okay, totally Yeah, so let's carry on to
(05:09):
the red table. All right, let's should we bring a chair? Hi?
My heart is racing out of at the table? How
is everybody? I'm nervous. You guys should feel my heart.
It's like, but I'm excited. I think I'm definitely ready
(05:36):
to address some things and I can't think of a
better place. So thank you for having me. Yeah, what
made you want to come to the table? I think
that this has been like a really eye opening experience
for me in situation and although there's a lot of
negative around it and there's a lot of mistakes and wrongdoings,
it's led me to have a completely different outlook on
(05:58):
a lot of situations. I also felt like I wanted
to be somewhere where I I didn't feel like attacked
and maybe I could feel more understood. I've watched the
show and I think you guys are all amazing and
it feels really safe, but it also feels honest, and
it feels like we're going to all lay it out
here and it's going to be like an open conversation,
which is really important to me as well. I got it. Yeah,
(06:21):
your mom's been in prison for a few weeks. Your
dad just went, Yes, how's that been? It's been hard,
I think for anybody, no matter what the situation is,
you don't want to see your parents go to prison. Yeah,
but also I think it's necessary for us to move
on and move forward. So before they went, did you
all not have any conversation about the circumstances and what
(06:45):
went on? We definitely did. Um. I think that what
hasn't been super public is that there is no justifying
or excusing what happened because what happened was wrong. And
I think every single person in my family can be like,
that was messed up. That was a big mistake. But
I think what's so important to me is like to
(07:07):
learn from the mistake, not to now be shamed and
punished and never given a second chance, because twenty one,
I feel like I deserve a second chance to redeem myself,
to show I've grown. Can you talk to them while
they're in prison? I actually haven't spoken to either of them.
There there's a quarantine phase just because of COVID, So
(07:27):
I think that is the reason, but I'm not too
I just haven't heard anything, so I'm just waiting. Wow, yeah,
how does that make you feel. It's so I've never
gone that long with that. I'm super close with my parents,
especially my mom. She's like my best friends. So it's
definitely been really hard not being able to talk to her.
But I know she's strong, and I know it's a
(07:48):
good reflection period. I'm trying to look at the positives
and situations, you know, and I know that it's a
positive that she's in there right now. She gets to
really rethink everything that happened, kind of figure out know
when she comes out, what she wants to do with
what she's learned through all of this, and I think
that hopefully will be a blessing in the end. When
you first heard about your parents arrests, you were on
(08:13):
spring break, right. I just remember getting a call and
it was like, hey, liv have you talked to your mom?
And I was like, no, why, And they were like, well,
I'll just let you talk to her and then call
me back. So I hang up the phone and I
had this really weird gut feeling. I didn't know what
she was talking about, but I was like, I'm just
(08:33):
gonna search my mom's name up. Then it's everywhere. And
I was sitting with a group of friends, and I
knew any second everybody was going to know too, if
they didn't already. And I remember just like freezing and
feeling so ashamed. I went home and hid myself for
probably like three or four months, and school was still
(08:54):
in session, like I was technically after springbreak, I was
going back to school, and I felt so ashamed and embarrassed.
And although I didn't really understand what just had happened,
because there was a lot that when I was applying,
I was not fully aware of what was going on.
So when I got home, I just felt so ashamed.
I was like, I can't go back there. This is wrong.
(09:16):
But I just remember feeling embarrassed, ashamed and getting the
hell home. And did you go back to school or
did you decide not to return? Yeah? I never went back.
I was too embarrassed. Yeah I was. You know what,
I shouldn't have been there in the first place, clearly,
so there was no point in me trying to go back.
What was some of the repercussions throughout this whole situation,
(09:36):
Because you're a beautiful, young white woman who's been born
into privilege, right, and so there would be some people
that would feel like she'll be fine, Like I feel
that way right, clearly, I feel like you will be fine, right,
and that there are other people that wouldn't be fine. Right.
(09:57):
That's why it's hard because I'm not trying to come
across it is like all this situation, like, I'm not
trying to victimize myself. I don't want pity. I don't
deserve pity. We messed up. I just want a second
chance to be like I recognized I messed up, and
for so long I wasn't able to talk about this
because of the legalities behind it. I never got to
say I'm really sorry that this happened, or I really
(10:18):
owned that this was a big mess up on everybody's part.
But I think everybody feels that way in my family
right now. What do you think has been the most
hurtful for you emotionally in this whole situation, I felt
mostly like embarrassed and ashamed of everything that's happened and
things I've lost. I guess just from looking as an outsider,
you could say I lost brand deals, I lost followers,
(10:40):
or whatever it was. But I really felt most moved
by the fact that we did all of this and
we're so ignorant. And I feel like a huge part
of having privilege is not knowing you have privilege. And
so when it was happening, it didn't feel wrong. It
didn't feel like that's not fair. A lot of people
don't have that. I was in my own little buble,
(11:00):
focusing about my comfortable world, but I never had to
look outside of that bubble. But I also I felt
very misunderstood the picture that has been painted of me.
I feel like it's not who I am. I'm not
this gratty girl that doesn't want to change anything. Also,
I understand why people are angry, and I understand what
people say hurtful things, and I would too if I
wasn't in my boat. And I think I had to
go through the backlash and the stuff because when you
(11:22):
read it, you realize that there's like some truth in it.
I understood that people were upset and angry, and maybe
it took me a little bit longer to understand what for,
But man, am I glad I did realize for ever.
So what have you learned specifically when all this first
happened and it became public. I remember thinking, which my
thoughts are completely different than that, but I remember thinking,
(11:44):
how are people mad about this? Like I know that
sounds so silly, but in the in the bubble that
I grew up and I didn't know so much outside
of it, and a lot of kids in that bubble,
their parents were donating to schools and doing stuff that advantage.
There are so many advantages. It's not fair and it's
not right, but it was happening. And so when this
first came out, I was like, I don't really understand
what's wrong with this, Like I'm not I'm not understand
(12:06):
that this was because what was going on look like
to you that it was just this is what happens,
like everybody does. But I don't realize at the time
that's privilege. I didn't I didn't put those two together.
I was like, well, this is what everybody does, and
my parents worked really hard and I don't understand, but
that's not that's not how it should be. And unfortunately
that's how it was. And I'm grateful for the situation
(12:28):
to see that big change and that big difference in
my own mind to know, like okay, Leivia. The fact
that you were on YouTube and you were saying stuff
like I don't want to go to school. I I
just want to go party at school. I don't know
how much of school I'm going to attend, but I'm
gonna go in and talk to my deans and everyone
and hope that I can try and balance at all.
But I do want the experience of like game days, partying.
(12:51):
I don't really care about school. Like the fact that
you even could say those things just shows how fortunate
you were that you don't have to worry about that,
that you knew you were gonna be okay without it,
And that sits with me and makes me cringe. And
it's embarrassing that I ever said those types of things
and only said them, but edited it, uploaded it, and
then saw their response to realize it was wrong. There
(13:12):
was no like malicious intent behind it. I was never
trying to hurt anybody or say those things to brag
about my life. It was just I was oblivious and
just a level of unconsciousness. Yeah, completely. And it's like
I sit here now and I'm like, well, how don't like,
how don't you realize stuff like that that's embarrassing that
that did fly over your head. But so let me
(13:33):
ask you, if you have a clear understanding of what
white privilege really is. Now, I understand that I just
based off my skin color, I already had my foot
in the door, and I was already ahead of everybody else.
I can recognize that going forward, I do want to
do stuff to change that and to help that. And
I had a really cool experience a few weeks back
(13:55):
where I went downtown in the Watts area and I
got to work with some kids in this after school program.
And it was kind of just shifted my whole mentality
because when I was sitting with them and talking to them,
and they were they all were so little, but they
were so grateful for that education, that after school place
that they could go away from their neighborhood to come
back and have a little freedom and focus on their schoolwork.
(14:17):
And I was watching all of them, and I was
thinking about my situation and that I took all of
that for granted. I didn't think that I was lucky
to have that. I just expected it because that's what
I grew up around. So it was a big shift
in my head knowing like Okay, let's kind of start
recognizing where the wrongs are and that I was looking
for something to work with because I haven't been doing much,
(14:39):
and I'm like, I want to work with something and
feel good and I want to give back to children
who want is privileged exactly and putting time into it too.
And I'm just at the beginning, and I want to
continue doing stuff and finding more things to do, but
not just throw money out a problem, you know, like
I want to invest myself so I can start time. Yeah,
(15:00):
I don't want to act here like I've been doing
all like I'm trying. I'm starting, but I'm starting. I'm
still learning and it's taken me a minute to do.
But I also think I needed to have that understanding
and that mind set switched to be genuine while I'm
doing stuff. And I think if I were to come
on here a year ago, this would have been a
completely different conversation, and so I needed to learn. So
(15:21):
do you understand why um, different people in the community
would be upset? Do you have any understanding of why
I would be upset at at your being here and
what you all did. I would also left to hear
it from you because I feel like it's a good
learning thing. I think I can understand how wrong it is.
(15:41):
And we had the means to do something and we
completely took it and ran with it, and it was
something that was wrong. And I think what a lot
of people not that it matters because nothing that happened was.
It really can't be excused like on paper, it's bad.
It's really bad. But I think what a lot of
people don't know is my parents came from a place
of just I love my kids. I just want to
(16:03):
help my kids whatever is best for them. I worked
my whole life to you know, provide for my family.
And I think they thought it was normal. And I
think that there was a college counselor involved who seemed
legitimate and ended up not being legitimate. And in that community,
it was it was, it was not out of the ordinary.
(16:23):
It's embarrassing to say that I didn't know. Do you
want to express why this would be upsetting for you,
just so that she has understanding, you know what I mean,
different perspective for me. It's like, um, there is so
(16:43):
much violent dehumanization that the black community has to go
through on a daily basis, right, There is so much devastation,
particularly this year with the pandemic and rething being brought
to the table, just how there's so much um inequality, yeah,
(17:07):
inequality and inequity um that when you come to the
table with something like this, it's like, child, please, no,
I got that. I'm exhausted. I'm exhausted with everything that
we have to deal with as a community, and I
(17:27):
just don't have the energy to put into the fact
that you lost your endorsements, you know, or you're not
in school right now, because at the end of the day,
you're gonna be okay, because your parents are gonna go
(17:49):
in and they're gonna do their sixty days and they're
gonna pay their fine, and you guys will go on
and you'll be okay and you will live your life.
And there's so many of us that it is not
going to be that situation. It just makes it very
difficult right now for me to care this atmosphere that
(18:11):
we are in right now. A year from now, I
might feel differently, but right now, in the atmosphere that
the world is in, it's very difficult for me to
feel compassionate about you. I'm trying to, and it's and
I shouldn't say about you, because I don't want you
(18:32):
to take it um that personally. You know what I mean,
It's not really about you. But this is what I
am glad because what I am hearing from you is
that there is an interest and a desire to learn
and figure out where you fit in the world and
(18:53):
what your role is to try to make a difference.
Here's what I love about this converse sation makes me
very hopeful in the sense of you are in a
space and I have a really beautiful opportunity to come
outside of that bubble and use your know how in
(19:17):
your resources to serve. It may take you a minute
to find out exactly what that niche is for you.
You know what, It's going to require your willingness to
do some education on your own and to really understand
white privilege and what's happening in the world today. I
didn't come on here to like try and win people over,
(19:39):
and I really need people to like me. I just
want to apologize for contributing to these social inequalities without
maybe not even though I didn't realize that at the time,
like being able to come here and recognize that I
am aware, Yes, you know and that's all we can ask. Listen,
we all have levels of unconsciousness, Lord knows, and then
something happens in my life that just smacks me on
(20:02):
top of the head, that has to shake me into
more awareness. And that's just what life is. But the
beautiful part is that when we had these experiences that
shake us, we listened to the call. Right when this
happened with your parents, I'm sure you were angry or
were you angry? We're assuming that, Yeah, that's true. Were
(20:25):
you angry or be honest, I wasn't angry, And I
think it's because I didn't have a good understanding of
what just happened. I didn't see the wrong in it,
like a honestly, when it first happened, I didn't look
at it and say, oh my god, like how dare
we do this? I was like, why is everybody complaining?
I'm confused what we did? And that's embarrassing to admit.
That's embarrassing within itself that I walked around my whole
(20:46):
twenty years of life not realizing, like, you have insane privilege.
You're like the poster child of white privilege, and you
had no idea. And so I think that although I've
had a really strong relationship with my mom and my
dad my whole life, I was definitely confused when this
all came out and I went and confronted them about everything.
(21:06):
They didn't really have much to say except like, I'm
so sorry, I like, really messed up and trying to
give the best to you and your sister. And they're
my family and I've known them since that was out
of the wood, so I know they're good people, and
I know that I'm not going to judge them for
a mistake they made, and although it's a big one,
like they're they're going to pay the price for it.
(21:29):
And regardless of what people say, I've seen them day
in and day out and how they've received all of this,
and I know that they've struggled. Why do you think
it was so important for your parents to have you
go to that school? I really believe my dad has
attachment issues and didn't want us to leave California for starters.
(21:49):
I think he just loves his kids, and his daughter
was then one of them. Close. My mom really for
most of the time when I was applying to school,
was in Canada shooting a movie. It was involved in
my whole childhood. But when it came to that, she like, Mossy,
you handle it. I'm out, like I'm going to work now,
because she she put off so much work to raise us,
so she felt like she got us to an age
where we can handle ourselves, and then she went back
(22:10):
to working. So I think having us close to home
was a big one. I think knowing that he knew
a lot of people that went there and how all
the amazing experiences he was so tunnel vision on. I
just want my kids to have a good college experience,
and I just want them to have an amazing education,
and I know I can give that to them. Neither
of them went to college, so I think it was
(22:32):
important for them, like we didn't get to have that.
I want to give it to you, but they wanted
to give it to us a little too much. How
has your sister doing throughout all this? She's also learned
a lot, and she's kind of more laid back and relaxed,
so she's like a little bit I think calmer than
I am throughout a lot of this in terms of
just feeling emotional, if like my parents being away or
(22:53):
whatever it is. Although it's hard because I don't want
to come across like what was me? You know. I
know people go through way worse, you know, and I
don't want that. I'm just speaking from my personal experience.
I'm still human with feelings, you know. Yeah, but she's good.
Do you feel like this has brought you too closer? Yeah?
We also lived together and we have like for like
(23:15):
read each other's next all the time because we lived
together in an apartment, so got it. We're as close
as it can be. How do your friends feel about
what what you've been through? You have friends who are
in the same same state Yeah, oblivion, ignorance, yeah yeah
(23:36):
I do, and unawareness as you were. They all grew
up similar lifestyles. None of us are intentionally trying to
look the other way. You don't need to address these problems.
But we weren't presented these things, and like you don't
know what you don't know. I hear what you're saying.
But I also recognized to this kind of stuff that
(23:56):
I'm talking about has been on the news every day
all day. I'm talking about this state of oblivion and
unawareness that she and her friends are living in. It
sounds like we're putting the responsibility for that on somebody
else when it's not their young adults and the news
(24:18):
is on every day, and you have some responsibility in
that yourself. No, I can't argue that. Yeah, so that's
my you know, No, I totally understand. But at the
same time, there's some acceptance that we have to have
around that and having to make room an allowance for change.
(24:39):
I also understand where it's Why would I give you
the chance now to say you understand when you've had
all this time. He's been going on for generations. I
get all that frustration. Absolutely. It would be a lie
to say I've been knowing and working towards the quality
since when I was this big. It would be a
lie to say I was actively doing stuff. If I
ever heard a comment, of course, I'm going to speak
(24:59):
up and say something I know right from wrong. I
just didn't think I never knew the depth behind it,
because that makes sense, and I want to take the
focus off to a little because I put a lot
of emphasis on the just for me personally from the
racial point of view, but also just the fact that
the measures that were taken to get you into a
(25:20):
college or university doesn't have anything to do with race,
it's people that have worked hard to earn the right
to be in that college and your parents decision to
pay somebody to alter your whatever it was that they did.
You understand what I'm saying. So that doesn't have anything
to do with the race. That just has to do
(25:41):
with financial privilege and entitlement. I think it was hard
for me too, is I worked my ass off in
high school. I wasn't slocking in high school. I don't
want to discredit myself to the point where I was like,
I've all this, and then also I didn't care, like
I really did care. I was always a very involved student.
I think that I put a lot of trust into
(26:02):
a person that claimed their profession was college counseling, and
it led me in a wrong direction. And it's not
to shift blame, but it's just to explain, like I
wasn't aware of what was going on. I did work hard,
and when this did come out, I was a little
confused when I saw stuff about what I had written
on my application, and I remember writing on my application
(26:22):
about my YouTube channel and vidcom and there were two
very different things, you know, So there was a lot
of it that I was like WHOA. And I'm sitting
you know, reading things online, and I'm like, if only
people knew how much, how how bad I feel that
this happened. I think I want people to understand that
I've made a million mistakes, and this one, I think
on you know, my family's part, whatever, it was a
(26:44):
really big one. But I just want people to know
they were just in their heads. It was like everybody
has a college counselor, and I'm just gonna donate to
a school like all my friends did with their kids.
And and I think what's crazier is that how so
many people in that in our area, like don't recognize
that it's wrong. I think, although it took a crazy
experience for me and my family to realize that, I'm
(27:05):
happy that we've do you know, like that will never
happen when I have kids. That will never happen. I
just hope that people can see that. I just want
to move forward. And I totally totally understand if people
aren't ready to jump on board with me. But I'm
here because I want to leave it on the table.
I don't want to keep dragging this throughout my life.
I often think if every single person like you reflect
(27:25):
on the biggest mistake you ever made to then have
that be so public, but didn't make it much easier.
You know, when I was on YouTube, it was so
we'll just come along with my world, like see where
I'm at, Let's just go for my journey and I
now and I go back. I just want to make
it very clear and very where, like, oh, there are
big problems going on in the world that are outside
my bubble, and I'm so comfortable that I don't have
(27:47):
to go outside of it. So it's making that change
of like, yeah, you could sit where you are and
wouldn't affect you, But how much better off a person
would you be if you used your blessings to help
somebody else. What I will say is that I'm really
happy that you were breaking those patterns and so you
know you come into the table and also just talking
(28:09):
about your new awareness. That brings me a lot of joy.
It really does, because you're a brave girl. I don't
know too many young women in your position that will
come and sit with the three of us. Thanks for
having The wrath of dam is no joke, right, but
let me tell you just feel that way. Let me
tell you the truth of the matter is you don't
(28:32):
have to do Yeah, yeah, you really don't. You don't
because the fact of the matter is you could just
keep on keeping You could just keep keeping on, and
you like that's the problem, right, but keeping on keeping on.
I think what was important was for me to come
here and say I'm sorry, I acknowledge what was wrong.
And I wasn't able to say that for so long,
(28:52):
so I think people almost thought, oh, she must not care,
that must have not affected her. And she wasn't moved
by that. And I took my privilege and all my
bless things for granted and I never thought anything of it.
And that's what really rocked me. I was like, this
is wrong. You need to talk about this. You need
to do it publicly because the situation was public, and
then you need to move forward and do better. Yeah,
that's all we can ask. When we know better, we
(29:14):
do better. When that goes across the board, the Lord knows.
I'm learning every day to just do better. Life lessons.
That's it. Life unfolds. We learn, keep moving and keep moving.
Thanks guys. My heart was like this meeting, like, okay, yeah,
I've never done an interview before. I don't think I
think this is like my first interview. I was like,
(29:35):
I guess I'm going on Red Table. I'm just going, God, yeah,
you did well. Now you know, if game is saying
you did well, then you know, trying to assess things
to say right now because we've been talking deep for
so long. But I love the color of your suit.
I was sitting over and I just was like, gamped.
(29:58):
Also because it's not about where, but that's yeah, when
you walked in, I'm like, oh, right, So you don't
even want me to be mad at I definitely don't
want you to be mad at me here. I think
(30:20):
it's not it's the situation. To join the Red Table
Talk family and become a part of the conversation. Follow
us at facebook dot com slash red table Talk. Thanks
for listening to this episode of Red Table Talk podcast
produced by Facebook Watch, Westbrook Audio, and I Heart Radio.
Hey, fam I'm Jada Pinkett Smith and this is the
Red Table Pop podcast all your favorite episodes from the
Faithful Watch Show in audio produced by Westbrook Audio and
I Heart Radio. Please don't forget to rate and review
on Apple Podcasts. It was the scandal that sparked national outrage,
landed her famous parents in prison, and tore her life apart.
(00:24):
In March nineteen. Olivia Jade was a successful lifestyle and
beauty influencer, with major brand deals, even her own makeup line,
This is Olivia Jade. But during her freshman year at
the University of Southern California, Olivia's world came crashing down.
Her parents, actress Lori Laughlin known to a generation as
(00:45):
Aunt Becky from Full House, and fashion designer Massa Mogia Newley,
were arrested. I'm definitely ready to address some things. Her
parents were among dozens charged for bribing and cheating to
get their kids into top universities. We're here today to
announce charges in the largest college admission scam ever prosecuted
(01:08):
by the Department of Justice. Lori and Masimo had hired
college counselor Rick Singer, the mastermind behind the illegal college scheme.
The couple allegedly paid five hundred thousand dollars to get
their daughters in the USC. Olivia was at the center
of the scandal. She was vilified for her entitlement, fired
from brands, and removed herself from public life. Her parents
(01:32):
are now in federal prison. Today, Olivia is finally ready
to break her silence and address the controversy. Do you
have any understanding of why I would be upset at
your being here? It's like, child, Please, we are about
(01:55):
to meet with a young lady, m Olivia Jade. A
lot of people are gonna have a lot of opinions
about her story. She called and I wanted to come
to our table, um, and we all had very different
feelings about it. Yeah, yeah, you know. I fought it
to the nail. I just found it really ironic that, Um,
(02:20):
she chose three black women to reach out to for
her redemption story. I feel like, here, we are a
white woman coming to black women for support when we
don't get the same from them. It's just it's it's
bothersome to me on so many levels. Her being here
is the epitome of white privilege. Privilege to me, I
(02:42):
understand where you're coming from. But let me just be clear.
I never want to be the thing that was done
to me by white women. I never want to be there.
I also believe that these are the kind of attitudes
that feed the same thing that we're fighting. It's like
people look at us, they say you're black and your female,
and they automatically put us in a category. So looking
(03:02):
at her as being white, young, and privileged and then
putting her in a category, it's the same thing. So
I just see it as this cycle. It's not our
responsibility to raise her consciousness. There's gonna be lots of
people that agree with you, and we're gonna get heat. Yeah, Yeah,
we're gonna get heat. I also feel like this is
a practice of compassion. To me, this young girl is
(03:25):
reaping the repercussions of some actions of her parents. When
I heard her story, it just reminded me of Jaden
Willow and Trey. It didn't remind me of them at all,
it did for me as a parent. I'm like, oh,
I've been in that position with me thinking I know
what's best for my kids, and then they suffered the
(03:46):
consequence of it. So you think that she didn't understand
what was going on because they did the same thing
for her sister. Bottom line, we can't act like we
know exactly what happened. At the end of the day,
I really feel like she's gonna be okay, you know,
and she's gonna be harb But whether her aunt was
sitting at this table or not, maybe maybe not, that's
not something that we could say. It's like this, just
(04:06):
because you have privilege, it doesn't exempt you the fact
that Willow for so long suffered in silence and even
turned to self harming herself because she didn't feel like
she had a right to be hurt. I've had to
deal with that part as well. People go, your kids
are gonna be fine because they're rich. We don't care.
(04:28):
But that's painful and it's not true exactly. I feel
like Olivia deserves a space. Obviously you do because I
thought it. And guess what, she's gonna be sitting right there.
That's what this table is about. This table is about growth.
What I'm trying to do listening to both of you guys,
is I'm sitting in between the two truths and going, Okay,
(04:49):
there has to be a way that these can blend.
Just a little bit because both are a hud, valid
and true in their worlds. Feelings are what they are,
and that's okay, totally Yeah, so let's carry on to
(05:09):
the red table. All right, let's should we bring a chair? Hi?
My heart is racing out of at the table? How
is everybody? I'm nervous. You guys should feel my heart.
It's like, but I'm excited. I think I'm definitely ready
(05:36):
to address some things and I can't think of a
better place. So thank you for having me. Yeah, what
made you want to come to the table? I think
that this has been like a really eye opening experience
for me in situation and although there's a lot of
negative around it and there's a lot of mistakes and wrongdoings,
it's led me to have a completely different outlook on
(05:58):
a lot of situations. I also felt like I wanted
to be somewhere where I I didn't feel like attacked
and maybe I could feel more understood. I've watched the
show and I think you guys are all amazing and
it feels really safe, but it also feels honest, and
it feels like we're going to all lay it out
here and it's going to be like an open conversation,
which is really important to me as well. I got it. Yeah,
(06:21):
your mom's been in prison for a few weeks. Your
dad just went, Yes, how's that been? It's been hard,
I think for anybody, no matter what the situation is,
you don't want to see your parents go to prison. Yeah,
but also I think it's necessary for us to move
on and move forward. So before they went, did you
all not have any conversation about the circumstances and what
(06:45):
went on? We definitely did. Um. I think that what
hasn't been super public is that there is no justifying
or excusing what happened because what happened was wrong. And
I think every single person in my family can be like,
that was messed up. That was a big mistake. But
I think what's so important to me is like to
(07:07):
learn from the mistake, not to now be shamed and
punished and never given a second chance, because twenty one,
I feel like I deserve a second chance to redeem myself,
to show I've grown. Can you talk to them while
they're in prison? I actually haven't spoken to either of them.
There there's a quarantine phase just because of COVID, So
(07:27):
I think that is the reason, but I'm not too
I just haven't heard anything, so I'm just waiting. Wow, yeah,
how does that make you feel. It's so I've never
gone that long with that. I'm super close with my parents,
especially my mom. She's like my best friends. So it's
definitely been really hard not being able to talk to her.
But I know she's strong, and I know it's a
(07:48):
good reflection period. I'm trying to look at the positives
and situations, you know, and I know that it's a
positive that she's in there right now. She gets to
really rethink everything that happened, kind of figure out know
when she comes out, what she wants to do with
what she's learned through all of this, and I think
that hopefully will be a blessing in the end. When
you first heard about your parents arrests, you were on
(08:13):
spring break, right. I just remember getting a call and
it was like, hey, liv have you talked to your mom?
And I was like, no, why, And they were like, well,
I'll just let you talk to her and then call
me back. So I hang up the phone and I
had this really weird gut feeling. I didn't know what
she was talking about, but I was like, I'm just
(08:33):
gonna search my mom's name up. Then it's everywhere. And
I was sitting with a group of friends, and I
knew any second everybody was going to know too, if
they didn't already. And I remember just like freezing and
feeling so ashamed. I went home and hid myself for
probably like three or four months, and school was still
(08:54):
in session, like I was technically after springbreak, I was
going back to school, and I felt so ashamed and embarrassed.
And although I didn't really understand what just had happened,
because there was a lot that when I was applying,
I was not fully aware of what was going on.
So when I got home, I just felt so ashamed.
I was like, I can't go back there. This is wrong.
(09:16):
But I just remember feeling embarrassed, ashamed and getting the
hell home. And did you go back to school or
did you decide not to return? Yeah? I never went back.
I was too embarrassed. Yeah I was. You know what,
I shouldn't have been there in the first place, clearly,
so there was no point in me trying to go back.
What was some of the repercussions throughout this whole situation,
(09:36):
Because you're a beautiful, young white woman who's been born
into privilege, right, and so there would be some people
that would feel like she'll be fine, Like I feel
that way right, clearly, I feel like you will be fine, right,
and that there are other people that wouldn't be fine. Right.
(09:57):
That's why it's hard because I'm not trying to come
across it is like all this situation, like, I'm not
trying to victimize myself. I don't want pity. I don't
deserve pity. We messed up. I just want a second
chance to be like I recognized I messed up, and
for so long I wasn't able to talk about this
because of the legalities behind it. I never got to
say I'm really sorry that this happened, or I really
(10:18):
owned that this was a big mess up on everybody's part.
But I think everybody feels that way in my family
right now. What do you think has been the most
hurtful for you emotionally in this whole situation, I felt
mostly like embarrassed and ashamed of everything that's happened and
things I've lost. I guess just from looking as an outsider,
you could say I lost brand deals, I lost followers,
(10:40):
or whatever it was. But I really felt most moved
by the fact that we did all of this and
we're so ignorant. And I feel like a huge part
of having privilege is not knowing you have privilege. And
so when it was happening, it didn't feel wrong. It
didn't feel like that's not fair. A lot of people
don't have that. I was in my own little buble,
(11:00):
focusing about my comfortable world, but I never had to
look outside of that bubble. But I also I felt
very misunderstood the picture that has been painted of me.
I feel like it's not who I am. I'm not
this gratty girl that doesn't want to change anything. Also,
I understand why people are angry, and I understand what
people say hurtful things, and I would too if I
wasn't in my boat. And I think I had to
go through the backlash and the stuff because when you
(11:22):
read it, you realize that there's like some truth in it.
I understood that people were upset and angry, and maybe
it took me a little bit longer to understand what for,
But man, am I glad I did realize for ever.
So what have you learned specifically when all this first
happened and it became public. I remember thinking, which my
thoughts are completely different than that, but I remember thinking,
(11:44):
how are people mad about this? Like I know that
sounds so silly, but in the in the bubble that
I grew up and I didn't know so much outside
of it, and a lot of kids in that bubble,
their parents were donating to schools and doing stuff that advantage.
There are so many advantages. It's not fair and it's
not right, but it was happening. And so when this
first came out, I was like, I don't really understand
what's wrong with this, Like I'm not I'm not understand
(12:06):
that this was because what was going on look like
to you that it was just this is what happens,
like everybody does. But I don't realize at the time
that's privilege. I didn't I didn't put those two together.
I was like, well, this is what everybody does, and
my parents worked really hard and I don't understand, but
that's not that's not how it should be. And unfortunately
that's how it was. And I'm grateful for the situation
(12:28):
to see that big change and that big difference in
my own mind to know, like okay, Leivia. The fact
that you were on YouTube and you were saying stuff
like I don't want to go to school. I I
just want to go party at school. I don't know
how much of school I'm going to attend, but I'm
gonna go in and talk to my deans and everyone
and hope that I can try and balance at all.
But I do want the experience of like game days, partying.
(12:51):
I don't really care about school. Like the fact that
you even could say those things just shows how fortunate
you were that you don't have to worry about that,
that you knew you were gonna be okay without it,
And that sits with me and makes me cringe. And
it's embarrassing that I ever said those types of things
and only said them, but edited it, uploaded it, and
then saw their response to realize it was wrong. There
(13:12):
was no like malicious intent behind it. I was never
trying to hurt anybody or say those things to brag
about my life. It was just I was oblivious and
just a level of unconsciousness. Yeah, completely. And it's like
I sit here now and I'm like, well, how don't like,
how don't you realize stuff like that that's embarrassing that
that did fly over your head. But so let me
(13:33):
ask you, if you have a clear understanding of what
white privilege really is. Now, I understand that I just
based off my skin color, I already had my foot
in the door, and I was already ahead of everybody else.
I can recognize that going forward, I do want to
do stuff to change that and to help that. And
I had a really cool experience a few weeks back
(13:55):
where I went downtown in the Watts area and I
got to work with some kids in this after school program.
And it was kind of just shifted my whole mentality
because when I was sitting with them and talking to them,
and they were they all were so little, but they
were so grateful for that education, that after school place
that they could go away from their neighborhood to come
back and have a little freedom and focus on their schoolwork.
(14:17):
And I was watching all of them, and I was
thinking about my situation and that I took all of
that for granted. I didn't think that I was lucky
to have that. I just expected it because that's what
I grew up around. So it was a big shift
in my head knowing like Okay, let's kind of start
recognizing where the wrongs are and that I was looking
for something to work with because I haven't been doing much,
(14:39):
and I'm like, I want to work with something and
feel good and I want to give back to children
who want is privileged exactly and putting time into it too.
And I'm just at the beginning, and I want to
continue doing stuff and finding more things to do, but
not just throw money out a problem, you know, like
I want to invest myself so I can start time. Yeah,
(15:00):
I don't want to act here like I've been doing
all like I'm trying. I'm starting, but I'm starting. I'm
still learning and it's taken me a minute to do.
But I also think I needed to have that understanding
and that mind set switched to be genuine while I'm
doing stuff. And I think if I were to come
on here a year ago, this would have been a
completely different conversation, and so I needed to learn. So
(15:21):
do you understand why um, different people in the community
would be upset? Do you have any understanding of why
I would be upset at at your being here and
what you all did. I would also left to hear
it from you because I feel like it's a good
learning thing. I think I can understand how wrong it is.
(15:41):
And we had the means to do something and we
completely took it and ran with it, and it was
something that was wrong. And I think what a lot
of people not that it matters because nothing that happened was.
It really can't be excused like on paper, it's bad.
It's really bad. But I think what a lot of
people don't know is my parents came from a place
of just I love my kids. I just want to
(16:03):
help my kids whatever is best for them. I worked
my whole life to you know, provide for my family.
And I think they thought it was normal. And I
think that there was a college counselor involved who seemed
legitimate and ended up not being legitimate. And in that community,
it was it was, it was not out of the ordinary.
(16:23):
It's embarrassing to say that I didn't know. Do you
want to express why this would be upsetting for you,
just so that she has understanding, you know what I mean,
different perspective for me. It's like, um, there is so
(16:43):
much violent dehumanization that the black community has to go
through on a daily basis, right, There is so much devastation,
particularly this year with the pandemic and rething being brought
to the table, just how there's so much um inequality, yeah,
(17:07):
inequality and inequity um that when you come to the
table with something like this, it's like, child, please, no,
I got that. I'm exhausted. I'm exhausted with everything that
we have to deal with as a community, and I
(17:27):
just don't have the energy to put into the fact
that you lost your endorsements, you know, or you're not
in school right now, because at the end of the day,
you're gonna be okay, because your parents are gonna go
(17:49):
in and they're gonna do their sixty days and they're
gonna pay their fine, and you guys will go on
and you'll be okay and you will live your life.
And there's so many of us that it is not
going to be that situation. It just makes it very
difficult right now for me to care this atmosphere that
(18:11):
we are in right now. A year from now, I
might feel differently, but right now, in the atmosphere that
the world is in, it's very difficult for me to
feel compassionate about you. I'm trying to, and it's and
I shouldn't say about you, because I don't want you
(18:32):
to take it um that personally. You know what I mean,
It's not really about you. But this is what I
am glad because what I am hearing from you is
that there is an interest and a desire to learn
and figure out where you fit in the world and
(18:53):
what your role is to try to make a difference.
Here's what I love about this converse sation makes me
very hopeful in the sense of you are in a
space and I have a really beautiful opportunity to come
outside of that bubble and use your know how in
(19:17):
your resources to serve. It may take you a minute
to find out exactly what that niche is for you.
You know what, It's going to require your willingness to
do some education on your own and to really understand
white privilege and what's happening in the world today. I
didn't come on here to like try and win people over,
(19:39):
and I really need people to like me. I just
want to apologize for contributing to these social inequalities without
maybe not even though I didn't realize that at the time,
like being able to come here and recognize that I
am aware, Yes, you know and that's all we can ask. Listen,
we all have levels of unconsciousness, Lord knows, and then
something happens in my life that just smacks me on
(20:02):
top of the head, that has to shake me into
more awareness. And that's just what life is. But the
beautiful part is that when we had these experiences that
shake us, we listened to the call. Right when this
happened with your parents, I'm sure you were angry or
were you angry? We're assuming that, Yeah, that's true. Were
(20:25):
you angry or be honest, I wasn't angry, And I
think it's because I didn't have a good understanding of
what just happened. I didn't see the wrong in it,
like a honestly, when it first happened, I didn't look
at it and say, oh my god, like how dare
we do this? I was like, why is everybody complaining?
I'm confused what we did? And that's embarrassing to admit.
That's embarrassing within itself that I walked around my whole
(20:46):
twenty years of life not realizing, like, you have insane privilege.
You're like the poster child of white privilege, and you
had no idea. And so I think that although I've
had a really strong relationship with my mom and my
dad my whole life, I was definitely confused when this
all came out and I went and confronted them about everything.
(21:06):
They didn't really have much to say except like, I'm
so sorry, I like, really messed up and trying to
give the best to you and your sister. And they're
my family and I've known them since that was out
of the wood, so I know they're good people, and
I know that I'm not going to judge them for
a mistake they made, and although it's a big one,
like they're they're going to pay the price for it.
(21:29):
And regardless of what people say, I've seen them day
in and day out and how they've received all of this,
and I know that they've struggled. Why do you think
it was so important for your parents to have you
go to that school? I really believe my dad has
attachment issues and didn't want us to leave California for starters.
(21:49):
I think he just loves his kids, and his daughter
was then one of them. Close. My mom really for
most of the time when I was applying to school,
was in Canada shooting a movie. It was involved in
my whole childhood. But when it came to that, she like, Mossy,
you handle it. I'm out, like I'm going to work now,
because she she put off so much work to raise us,
so she felt like she got us to an age
where we can handle ourselves, and then she went back
(22:10):
to working. So I think having us close to home
was a big one. I think knowing that he knew
a lot of people that went there and how all
the amazing experiences he was so tunnel vision on. I
just want my kids to have a good college experience,
and I just want them to have an amazing education,
and I know I can give that to them. Neither
of them went to college, so I think it was
(22:32):
important for them, like we didn't get to have that.
I want to give it to you, but they wanted
to give it to us a little too much. How
has your sister doing throughout all this? She's also learned
a lot, and she's kind of more laid back and relaxed,
so she's like a little bit I think calmer than
I am throughout a lot of this in terms of
just feeling emotional, if like my parents being away or
(22:53):
whatever it is. Although it's hard because I don't want
to come across like what was me? You know. I
know people go through way worse, you know, and I
don't want that. I'm just speaking from my personal experience.
I'm still human with feelings, you know. Yeah, but she's good.
Do you feel like this has brought you too closer? Yeah?
We also lived together and we have like for like
(23:15):
read each other's next all the time because we lived
together in an apartment, so got it. We're as close
as it can be. How do your friends feel about
what what you've been through? You have friends who are
in the same same state Yeah, oblivion, ignorance, yeah yeah
(23:36):
I do, and unawareness as you were. They all grew
up similar lifestyles. None of us are intentionally trying to
look the other way. You don't need to address these problems.
But we weren't presented these things, and like you don't
know what you don't know. I hear what you're saying.
But I also recognized to this kind of stuff that
(23:56):
I'm talking about has been on the news every day
all day. I'm talking about this state of oblivion and
unawareness that she and her friends are living in. It
sounds like we're putting the responsibility for that on somebody
else when it's not their young adults and the news
(24:18):
is on every day, and you have some responsibility in
that yourself. No, I can't argue that. Yeah, so that's
my you know, No, I totally understand. But at the
same time, there's some acceptance that we have to have
around that and having to make room an allowance for change.
(24:39):
I also understand where it's Why would I give you
the chance now to say you understand when you've had
all this time. He's been going on for generations. I
get all that frustration. Absolutely. It would be a lie
to say I've been knowing and working towards the quality
since when I was this big. It would be a
lie to say I was actively doing stuff. If I
ever heard a comment, of course, I'm going to speak
(24:59):
up and say something I know right from wrong. I
just didn't think I never knew the depth behind it,
because that makes sense, and I want to take the
focus off to a little because I put a lot
of emphasis on the just for me personally from the
racial point of view, but also just the fact that
the measures that were taken to get you into a
(25:20):
college or university doesn't have anything to do with race,
it's people that have worked hard to earn the right
to be in that college and your parents decision to
pay somebody to alter your whatever it was that they did.
You understand what I'm saying. So that doesn't have anything
to do with the race. That just has to do
(25:41):
with financial privilege and entitlement. I think it was hard
for me too, is I worked my ass off in
high school. I wasn't slocking in high school. I don't
want to discredit myself to the point where I was like,
I've all this, and then also I didn't care, like
I really did care. I was always a very involved student.
I think that I put a lot of trust into
(26:02):
a person that claimed their profession was college counseling, and
it led me in a wrong direction. And it's not
to shift blame, but it's just to explain, like I
wasn't aware of what was going on. I did work hard,
and when this did come out, I was a little
confused when I saw stuff about what I had written
on my application, and I remember writing on my application
(26:22):
about my YouTube channel and vidcom and there were two
very different things, you know, So there was a lot
of it that I was like WHOA. And I'm sitting
you know, reading things online, and I'm like, if only
people knew how much, how how bad I feel that
this happened. I think I want people to understand that
I've made a million mistakes, and this one, I think
on you know, my family's part, whatever, it was a
(26:44):
really big one. But I just want people to know
they were just in their heads. It was like everybody
has a college counselor, and I'm just gonna donate to
a school like all my friends did with their kids.
And and I think what's crazier is that how so
many people in that in our area, like don't recognize
that it's wrong. I think, although it took a crazy
experience for me and my family to realize that, I'm
(27:05):
happy that we've do you know, like that will never
happen when I have kids. That will never happen. I
just hope that people can see that. I just want
to move forward. And I totally totally understand if people
aren't ready to jump on board with me. But I'm
here because I want to leave it on the table.
I don't want to keep dragging this throughout my life.
I often think if every single person like you reflect
(27:25):
on the biggest mistake you ever made to then have
that be so public, but didn't make it much easier.
You know, when I was on YouTube, it was so
we'll just come along with my world, like see where
I'm at, Let's just go for my journey and I
now and I go back. I just want to make
it very clear and very where, like, oh, there are
big problems going on in the world that are outside
my bubble, and I'm so comfortable that I don't have
(27:47):
to go outside of it. So it's making that change
of like, yeah, you could sit where you are and
wouldn't affect you, But how much better off a person
would you be if you used your blessings to help
somebody else. What I will say is that I'm really
happy that you were breaking those patterns and so you
know you come into the table and also just talking
(28:09):
about your new awareness. That brings me a lot of joy.
It really does, because you're a brave girl. I don't
know too many young women in your position that will
come and sit with the three of us. Thanks for
having The wrath of dam is no joke, right, but
let me tell you just feel that way. Let me
tell you the truth of the matter is you don't
(28:32):
have to do Yeah, yeah, you really don't. You don't
because the fact of the matter is you could just
keep on keeping You could just keep keeping on, and
you like that's the problem, right, but keeping on keeping on.
I think what was important was for me to come
here and say I'm sorry, I acknowledge what was wrong.
And I wasn't able to say that for so long,
(28:52):
so I think people almost thought, oh, she must not care,
that must have not affected her. And she wasn't moved
by that. And I took my privilege and all my
bless things for granted and I never thought anything of it.
And that's what really rocked me. I was like, this
is wrong. You need to talk about this. You need
to do it publicly because the situation was public, and
then you need to move forward and do better. Yeah,
that's all we can ask. When we know better, we
(29:14):
do better. When that goes across the board, the Lord knows.
I'm learning every day to just do better. Life lessons.
That's it. Life unfolds. We learn, keep moving and keep moving.
Thanks guys. My heart was like this meeting, like, okay, yeah,
I've never done an interview before. I don't think I
think this is like my first interview. I was like,
(29:35):
I guess I'm going on Red Table. I'm just going, God, yeah,
you did well. Now you know, if game is saying
you did well, then you know, trying to assess things
to say right now because we've been talking deep for
so long. But I love the color of your suit.
I was sitting over and I just was like, gamped.
(29:58):
Also because it's not about where, but that's yeah, when
you walked in, I'm like, oh, right, So you don't
even want me to be mad at I definitely don't
want you to be mad at me here. I think
(30:20):
it's not it's the situation. To join the Red Table
Talk family and become a part of the conversation. Follow
us at facebook dot com slash red table Talk. Thanks
for listening to this episode of Red Table Talk podcast
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