College Scandal Affecting Olivia Jade as a Social Media Influencer
Actress, Lori Loughlin better known for her role as Rebecca Donaldson Katsopolis on “Full House,” has been caught up in quite a scandal. Loughlin among dozens of defendants, including “Desperate Housewives” actress Felicity Huffman are accused of spending or laundering millions of dollars to falsify school records of high school students so they could be admitted to elite universities. Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, are accused of paying $500,000 in bribes to help their daughters get into the University of Southern California. So, what is the aftermath of this college scandal looking like for their daughter, Olivia Jade Giannulli?
Does Being a Social Media Influencer Help You with College Admissions?
Olivia Jade Giannulli is YouTube blogger with nearly 2 million subscribers. Her videos focus on beauty, fashion, fitness and vlogs of her college experiences at USC. Jade is one of the many social media influencers who attract hundred of thousands of viewers during their years in college. Although some schools do value having famous actors or performers in their classes, this does not yet apply to social media influencers.
Adding “social media influencer” to your college application will not give you the same boost on your application as volunteering or playing a sport. In fact, social media platforms can harm your application if your showing off unsavory details like drinking and partying. Social media influencers often travel internationally to go on vacation or promote brands they work with – showcasing such privileges could be more harmful than they think when it comes to college applications.
How Will This Scandal Affect Olivia Jade’s Career?
Although it is unclear whether or not Olivia Jade was aware of her parents’ involvement in the scandal, her booming Instagram and YouTube blogging business has taken a hit since the news broke. As well as having a YouTube lifestyle channel, Jade has an Instagram page with about 1.3 million followers, where she has promoted paid-advertisement posts from the likes of SmileDirectClub, the at-home invisible aligner treatment, and Amazon Prime Student, which fully furnished her dorm room. Olivia Jade has also cut brand deals with partners including Dolce & Gabbana, Marc Jacobs Beauty, Smashbox Beauty Cosmetics, Too Faced Cosmetics, Boohoo, and Unilever’s TRESemme.
Jade had a longtime Instagram partnership with cosmetic powerhouse Sephora, introducing the $28 Olivia Jade Sephora Bronze & Illuminate Palette with the Sephora Collection December. However, a rep for the retailer, Emily Shapiro, issued a statement from the company that said its working relationship was finished. The product is no longer available on Sephora’s website. In addition, online fashion retailer Lulus also said it has no plans to work with Olivia Jade again. “Lulus has not worked with Olivia Jade since August 2018 and we have no plans to do so in the future,” Colleen Winter, co-founder and CEO of Lulus, said in a statement.
Past Headlines Adding Fuel to the Fire
It probably doesn’t help that Olivia Jade made headlines this past August when the freshman said she’s not a huge fan of going to class. “But I do want the experience of like gameday, partying,” she said in you on her YouTube clips. “I don’t really care about school, as you guys all know.” She then apologized two days later. “I said something super ignorant and stupid, basically,” she said. “And it totally came across that I’m not grateful for college – I’m going to a really nice school. And it just kind of made it seem like I don’t care, I just want to brush it off, I’m just gonna be successful at YouTube and not have to worry about school… I’m really disappointed in myself.” The YouTube star has no plans to return to USC, following her mom’s indictment and arrest for her alleged involvement with the college fraud scandal.
