Lori Loughlin Career Likely Still ‘Tainted’ Despite Guilty Plea

In a twist on the narrative that has been woven since being indicted in March 2019, “Full House” star Lori Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, are set to officially enter guilty pleas today in the college admissions scandal. However, despite now accepting punishment for their alleged crimes, it doesn’t mean things will be easy for either one when it comes to eventually attempting to revive their careers.

According to KerrPR President Cherie Kerr, overall, Hollywood is known for being a generally forgiving place, allowing celebrities convicted of crimes to continue with their careers after they have served time or paid their dues. However, there are some other hurdles that Loughlin might have to overcome if she wants a chance at acting again in the future.

“Hollywood tends to be pretty forgiving if it’s a nonviolent crime and also it depends on the times we’re living in,” Kerr told Fox News. “We’re in a time where there’s a lot of cheating and a lot of corruption and things going on that are very telling about people.”

“For instance, the fact that [Lori] lied about both daughters’ athletic ability—that's a real problem. That’s worse than her just sending somebody some money as an influence, and to get [her daughters] in and then say, ‘Oh well, I didn’t really know what I was doing and this guy [William ‘Rick’ Singer] put himself out to be someone who was just a coordinator to get my kids in school,” she added. “So when you start lying as she did about her daughters and their background-and they found out they weren’t rowers—that's the problem because that’s really deceitful.”

Loughlin, who built her career off of a wholesome image portrayed by Aunt Becky on “Full House” and “Fuller House,” as well as Abigail Stanton on Hallmark Channel’s “When Calls the Heart,” likely also did damage because she didn’t admit to guilt right away, which Kerr said has likely tainted the image she made for herself, and could be the very reason why getting her career back on track may be difficult in the future.

“She didn’t fight it and get off and even if she had, there was a lot of damage done,” Kerr said. “It’s generally not just one thing, but I think her career and her image is tainted from here on out because of what happened. If she’s not well thought of as a mother, to a lot of people in the public that will be a big black mark against her.”

Kerr also pointed out how Felicity Huffman, who was also indicted in the scheme for paying $15,000 to have her daughter’s SAT answers changed, likely had a better shot when it came to rehabilitating her career because she admitted to her guilt early on and has already served time in prison.

Image consultant Amanda Sanders also spoke about Loughlin’s plea to Us Weekly, stating that the move came because the actress felt her “back was up against a wall.”

Something else that is also worth noting is how the kids involved in the scandal have also handled things. While Olivia Jade and Isabella Rose Giannulli did both leave USC and have kept largely lower profiles since the scandal broke, they have not attempted enrollment at other institutions, whereas Huffman’s daughter, Sophia Macy, retook her SATs and gained admission to Carnegie Mellon University as a result of her scores. Her other daughter, Georgia, who Huffman did not use Singer’s services for, will be attending Vassar College.

When they enter their pleas, Loughlin will be pleading guilty to one count, and if the judge accepts the plea, will serve two months in jail, have two years of supervised release, pay a $150,000 fine and complete 100 hours of community service. Giannulli will plead guilty to two counts and could face five months in prison, a $250,000 fine, two years of supervised release and 250 hours of community service.