Lori Loughlin's Hallmark Series Pulled After College Cheating Scandal
Lori Loughlin's latest Hallmark Channel series, When Calls The Heart, was scheduled to debut this [...]
Lori Loughlin's latest Hallmark Channel series, When Calls The Heart, was scheduled to debut this weekend, but is no longer on the schedule after she was arrested in the college admissions bribery scandal.
Hallmark announced it was cutting ties with the face of its made-for-TV movies earlier Thursday, and later said the When Calls The Heart premiere would not air on Sunday, March 17 as previously scheduled.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the network said they are "evaluating all creative options" for the series.
When Calls The Heart launched in 2014 and inspired a spin-off, When Hope Calls. Loughlin plays Abigail Stanton, with Erin Krakow, Jack Wagner, Marin Cummins, Pascale Hutton and Paul Greene. The series was filming in Canada at the time Loughlin, 54, was indicted.
Loughlin also starred in several made-for-TV movies for Hallmark, including the Garage Sale Mystery movies. The former Full House star will no longer appear in future entries of the series.
"We are saddened by the recent news surrounding the college admissions allegations," the Hallmark parent company said in a statement Thursday. "We are no longer working with Lori Loughlin and have stopped development of all productions that air on the Crown Media Family Network channels involving Lori Loughlin including Garage Sale Mysteries, an independent third party production."
Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, have been accused of paying $500,000 to have their two daughters listed as crew recruits for the University of Southern California, even though neither of them play the sport. Prosecutors say the couple even sent photoshopped pictures of their daughters on rowing machines to trick admissions officers. Loughlin was taken into custody on Wednesday and released on a $1 million bond.
William "Rick" Singer, CEO of The Key, allegedly helped Loughlin and nearly 50 others named in the indictment. Singer pleaded guilty to four charges and said the allegations in the indictment were true, reports CNN.
Louglhin's younger daughter, 19-year-old Olivia Jade, lost her Sephora partnership. Olivia is a social media influencer, with 1.9 million YouTube subscribers and 1.4 million Instagram followers.
"After careful review of recent developments, we have made the decision to end the Sephora Collection partnership with Olivia Jade, effective immediately," Sephora said in a statement.
Sources told PEOPLE Loughlin and Giannulli have also lost friends after the allegations were made public Tuesday.
"Many of their friends don't want to be associated with them right now," a source told the magazine. "Their friends are shocked at the allegations."
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