Lori Loughlin’s Daughter Olivia Jade Breaks Silence in Return to YouTube Amid Impending Legal Trouble

Olivia Jade Giannulli made her return to online video Sunday after posting her first video to YouTube since her parents were arrested in the college admissions scandal. Lori Loughlin and husband Mossimo Giannulli are facing an impending prison sentence for their role in the widespread scandal known as Operation Varsity Blues and have yet to speak directly about the case.

Olivia Jade’s video is the first official word from Loughlin’s family since the scandal broke, though the former USC student doesn’t address too much of the meat from the scandal.

“Obviously I’ve been gone for a really long time, and as much as I wish I could talk about all of this — it’s really hard to say this, because I know it’s something that needs to be addressed — it’s just, unfortunately, the reason for that is because I’m legally not allowed to speak on anything going on right now,” Giannulli said in the clip titled “hi again” on her YouTube channel. “A part of me is like, Should I come back to YouTube right now? It’s been so long and I actually really, really miss it. I genuinely miss filming and I feel like a huge part of me is not the same because this is something that I’m really passionate about and something I like to do.”

While she can’t discuss the legal aspects of the case or her parents’ potential prison time, Olivia Jade does go into some detail about the personal toll the scandal has taken.

“I debated for seven or eight months. If I can’t talk about it, is there a point in coming back and not being able to say anything? I wanna come back because I wanna come back. There’s no point in me just talking for ten minutes to the camera about how I wish I could say something when I really can’t. So, I’m gonna leave it at that. Thank you so much for your patience or if you stuck around for nine months just waiting, I really appreciate it. This is the best I can do and I want to move on with my life and not in a selfish way,” Jade told her fans in the clip. “It’s so hard, because I’m not trying to make this about me, or how I’ve been, because it’s not the point of this. I’m terrified to make this video and to come back. I want to start taking smaller steps in the right direction for people that have been DM-ing and asking me.”

She finishes up the video by laying out the moral of the story and telling fans that she “missed” her fans and was “really excited” to get back to filming and posting to YouTube.

Giannulli’s parents are facing charges of bribery, conspiracy to commit money laundering, mail fraud, and honest services mail fraud for their alleged involvement in the scandal. Loughlin and her husband reportedly paid bribes up to $500,000 to have Olivia Jade and her sister accepted into the University of Southern California as part of the crew team.

Loughlin pleaded not guilty to the charges and may face up to 20 years in prison. Felicity Huffman, who was also caught up in the scandal for similar reasons, took the opposite path and pleaded guilty. Her 13-day prison sentence was light by many opinions, but countered the severity that may face other parents.

The trial for Loughlin and Giannulli is set for 2020 and both face 20 years in prison.