The reaction to the news that Felicity Huffman was arrested in connection with a college admissions cheating scam on Tuesday, March 12, has been swift and critical. Huffman and Full House star Lori Loughlin were two of approximately 50 people reportedly involved in a scam that allowed parents to, among other things, pay bribes to get their children into elite colleges, involving acts like fabricating standardized test scores and working with coaches to accept bribes to allow prospective students to be admitted into their athletic programs.
As reported by Variety, Huffman was arrested at her home in Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon and appeared in court on a charge related to paying a bribe to help raise her daughter’s SAT score. E! News reports Huffman has also been charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud, although it’s unclear if those charges were addressed in the courtroom on Tuesday. Huffman and Loughlin’s husband, Mossimo Giannulli, were the only two people indicted in the case to appear in court on Tuesday afternoon. E! also notes that Huffman was granted a signature bond of $250,000 and must appear in federal court in Boston on March 29. A warrant is apparently still out for Loughlin’s arrest but, as of Wednesday morning, it’s unclear if she has been brought into custody.
Celebrities were quick to react to the news of the scam, which has been called “Operation Varsity Blues” by the FBI, who is leading the charge on this case. As of Wednesday morning, none of Huffman or Loughlin’s costars from their respective hit shows Desperate Housewives or Full House have commented in any way on social media. That said, celebrities like James Van Der Beek, Bethenny Frankel and Lena Dunham have gone on Twitter to share their feelings about this case.
Van Der Beek’s tweet is probably the most notable because his response was in relation to the FBI deeming the case “Operation Varsity Blues.” Since one of Van Der Beek’s best-known roles was in 1999’s Varsity Blues and one of his best-known lines from the film is “I don’t want your life,” Van Der Beek seized on the opportunity to make a veiled jab at the case and the case name in his tweet, writing, “If only there was a succinct turn of phrase these kids could have used to inform their parents they were not desirous of their life path…”
https://twitter.com/vanderjames/status/1105567685344030720
But wait, how do the kids not know they got in on a crew scholarship? If you ask your kid to stand in front of a crew boat, aren’t they curious? I’m just confused all around.
— Bethenny Frankel (@Bethenny) March 12, 2019
BREAKING NEWS: ENTRANCE INTO COLLEGE UNJUST, TILTED IN FAVOR OF WHITE KIDS WITH RICH PARENTS.
— Samantha Bee (@realsambee) March 12, 2019
all the people involved in this college scam should have gathered their money and started a small elite college where Lori Loughlin teaches a class on smiling
— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) March 12, 2019
BREAKING NEWS:
Rich people suckCan we move on now?
— Ethan Embry (@EmbryEthan) March 12, 2019
Harvard: Sorry Mr & Mrs Oswalt your son is at best a C+ student
My dad: (snaps fingers)
Fleegle from The Banana Splits enters, carrying a briefcase of $20 bills
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) March 12, 2019
Despite the avalanche of information released in the first hours of this story, there are so many details around this scam and the people involved that have yet to be made known. It’s unclear what the far-reaching effects of this scam are or even what kinds of legal punishments Huffman, Loughlin and the other people involved will receive. For now, all we know is that we will be following this case as it develops.
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