Eva Longoria Speaks out on How Felicity Huffman Handled College Admissions Scandal

Felicity Huffman has Eva Longoria in her corner amid the college admissions scandal. While Huffman, 56, has been an embattled figure in the public eye due to her involvement in the sweeping college admissions ordeal, her former Desperate Housewives co-star thinks she dealt with the situation in the best way possible.

“I think she has a heart that is bigger than the sun and that’s the Felicity I know and that’s the woman I choose to support and love,” Longoria, 44, told Entertainment Tonight on Wednesday at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Annual Grants Banquet in Beverly Hills. “She was humbled by what happened and I think she did handle it with as much grace as she could in that situation.”

Back in May, Huffman pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal for her part in a massive college admissions scam. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 13. Although she could face time behind bars, her quick admission of guilt and sense of remorse will likely buy her a less severe punishment than the one facing Lori Loughlin and husband Mossimo Giannulli, the two other figureheads of the scandal, who did not accept the initial plea deal.

“I am pleading guilty to the charge brought against me by the United States Attorney’s Office,” Huffman said in a statement in May. “I am in full acceptance of my guilt, and with deep regret and shame over what I have done, I accept full responsibility for my actions and will accept the consequences that stem from those actions. I am ashamed of the pain I have caused my daughter, my family, my friends, my colleagues and the educational community.”

“I want to apologize to them and, especially, I want to apologize to the students who work hard every day to get into college, and to their parents who make tremendous sacrifices to support their children and do so honestly,” she said.

According to the indictment against Huffman, she allegedly paid $15,000 to help get her and husband William H. Macy‘s eldest daughter, 19-year-old Sofia, into an elite college by cheating on the SAT. Sofia reportedly plans to take at least one gap year before enrolling in college, according to ET.

Huffman maintained that Sofia did not know about her plan to cheat on the SAT. “My daughter knew absolutely nothing about my actions, and in my misguided and profoundly wrong way, I have betrayed her,” she said. “This transgression toward her and the public I will carry for the rest of my life. My desire to help my daughter is no excuse to break the law or engage in dishonesty.”

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