Disgraced ‘Full House’ Star Lori Loughlin’s Daughter Olivia Jade Joins ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Cast, and Fans Aren’t Impressed
The new Dancing With the Stars cast has been announced. Fifteen celebrities — including former 90210‘s Brian Austin Green and Real Housewives of Atlanta alum Kenya Moore — will put on their dancing shoes and try to twirl their way to victory on the upcoming season of the ABC reality competition show. But the inclusion of social media influencer Olivia Jade Giannulli in this year’s cast has some fans raising their eyebrows.
Meet the new ‘Dancing With the Stars’ cast
The new Dancing With the Stars celebrity lineup was revealed on the September 8 episode of Good Morning America. This year’s contenders for the mirror ball trophy are:
- Country singer Jimmie Allen
- Spice Girl Melanie C
- Christine Chiu from Bling Empire
- Brian Austin Green from Beverly Hills, 90210
- Melora Hardin from The Office
- Social media influencer Olivia Jade
- Matt James from The Bachelor
- Amanda Kloots from The Talk
- Martin Kove from Cobra Kai
- Gold medal Olympian Suni Lee
- WWE Superstar Mike “The Miz” Mizanin
- Kenya Moore from The Real Housewives of Atlanta
- Peloton instructor Cody Rigsby
- NBA star Iman Shumpert
- Popstar JoJo Siwa
Lori Loughlin’s daughter Olivia Jade joins ‘DWTS’ cast following college admissions scandal
Olivia Jade is a social media star and YouTuber, but she is best known to many as the daughter of former Full House star Lori Loughlin and fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli. In 2019, her parents were arrested and charged with paying $500,000 in bribes to ensure that she and her sister, Isabella Rose Giannulli, were admitted to the University of Southern California as members of the rowing team, even though neither was actually involved in the sport.
Loughlin and Giannulli eventually pleaded guilty. Each served several months in prison for their role in the crime. Loughlin was also fired from her roles on the Full House reboot Fuller House and the Hallmark Channel series When Calls the Heart.
Olivia Jade and her sister both eventually left USC, but neither was charged with a crime. In the wake of the scandal, Olivia Jade lost sponsorship deals with several companies, including Sephora and Amazon. Flippant comments she’d made in the past about school also drew criticism.
“I don’t know how much of school I’m gonna attend but I’m gonna go in and talk to my deans and everyone, and hope that I can try and balance it all. But I do want the experience of, like, game days, partying … I don’t really care about school, as you guys all know,” she said in a video that resurfaced after the scandal broke.
‘Dancing With the Stars’ fans react to Olivia Jade’s involvement in the show
When the news that Olivia Jade would be joining the Dancing With the Stars cast was revealed, a number of fans were less than impressed. Several replied to a tweet announcing her casting with some snarky comments.
“Did her mum pay you guys to get her on the show?” one asked.
Others were upset that DWTS was appearing to reward a person who they thought had cheated to get into college and taken a spot from another deserving student.
“Privileged kids like this one are always failing upwards,” another wrote.
“Can’t wait for Olivia Jade’s Paso Doble to ‘Row, Row, Row Your Boat,’” tweeted comedian Justin Martindale.
Despite skepticism from many, Olivia Jade seems determined to put the scandal behind her.
“I think it’s such an incredible opportunity. I’m ready to put myself back out there and try new things,” she told Us Weekly after her casting was announced. “I’m really excited to challenge myself and put myself outside my comfort zone, which I don’t do often. So, it just all happened and I’m just letting the universe take over and see what happens and living it day by day.”
The new season of Dancing With the Stars premieres Monday, September 20 at 8 p.m. ET. Episodes stream the next day on Hulu.
Check out Showbiz Cheat Sheet on Facebook!
