Daymond John thinks Olivia Jade could bounce back from her parents’ involvement in the college admissions cheating scandal.
The Shark Tank star answered press questions in New York City Friday where he gave his two-cents on how the teen businesswoman can come out of the shadow of Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Gianulli’s scandal and get back her promising future as a social media influencer.
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“As long as, you know, she accepts what happened and she doesn’t try to hide it… she takes responsibility for what she may or may not have known that happened and move forward. I mean, what else is she going to do?” John told TMZ.
The reporter asked John what advice he would give the YouTube star as her parents face charges for allegedly paying $500,000 to ensure spots for her and sister Isabella at the University of Southern California.
“Embrace it. Move past it, and I don’t know, worry about your future,” John said.
While John stayed silent when asked what advice he would give Loughlin and her husband, the businessman said he believes the couple could also gain back their power after the scandal.
“I think we’ve seen a lot of people do things that, maybe they felt they were doing the best for their kids, but they did some horrible things out there, and there’s a lot of people that are successful,” John told the outlet. “I’ve seen people who have done some horrible things and still be leaders in the world.”
Loughlin and Giannulli face charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. An additional money laundering charge was added to the list after the couple reportedly rejected a plea bargain with a minimum two-year prison sentence. The new charge adds a maximum of 20 years in prison should they be found guilty of the crime.
Despite reports that the sisters had dropped out of USC, Olivia and Isabella reportedly are still enrolled in the college as an investigation is underway on every student involved in the scheme to determine whether they will remain in the school.
Olivia reportedly has stayed away from her parents after the scandal broke, causing her to lose sponsorships from Tresemmรฉ and Sephora.
“Olivia is still distraught and embarrassed. She hasn’t been home much,” a source told PEOPLE recently. “She is very angry with her parents. She just wants to figure out how she can rebuild her brand.”
“Olivia had her own life and business. She was always very driven and worked very hard to achieve what she had. This was her passion,” the source said. “She was honest about that she didn’t really care about school. But her business, she was always very serious about. She most certainly will find a way to start over again. She isn’t someone that gives up easily.”