Could a recruitment poster for the University of Southern California crew team make a difference to Lori Loughlin in court? According to a report from TMZ, it's possible.
The former Full House star, who was recently-booted from Hallmark’s When Calls the Heart, is accused of faking her daughters’ way into USC (with the help of alleged ringleader William “Rick” Singer) by having the students pose as high school crew team members. The idea, according to reports, was that Olivia Jade and Isabella 'Bella' Rose would be “recruited” to the USC crew team, despite having never participated in the sport. Loughlin and her also-accused fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, allegedly had their daughters pose with rowing equipment to make the recruitment more believable. Both Olivia Jade and Isabella Rose were accepted to the Los Angeles university.
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Now, a new poster for the USC crew team is allegedly throwing a wrench in the case against Loughlin. The poster, seen around campus, calls for USC students to tryout for the team, and features the words “No experience? No problem!” in bold writing. This would suggest that Loughlin pretending her daughters were “crew ready” despite having never participated in the sport might not be a legal issue.
It's unclear if Loughlin's team will actually use the poster slogan as a defense during her trial. It's also unclear if USC knew that the slogan would make many viewers think of the college scandal currently playing out on campus, or that there was a possibility of it assisting Loughlin during her trial.
Per TMZ's report, it’s typical that existing USC students with no experience are brought into the crew team — not people wanting acceptance to the university, a la the Giannulli sisters.
Unlike fellow accused actress in the college admissions scandal Felicity Huffman, Loughlin and Giannulli have not pled guilty to the charges against them.
Refinery29 has reached out to Loughlin and USC for comment.
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