Lori Loughlin dropped by Hallmark after she's accused in college admissions scandal
Lori Loughlin has long been a staple on the Hallmark Channel and its sister channel, Hallmark Movies and Mysteries, with the show When Calls the Heart and the Garage Sale Mysteries movies for years. You could count on seeing her in Christmas movies, too. Not anymore.
The network has ended its longstanding relationship with the actress one day after she surrendered to the FBI for her role in the college admissions cheating scandal Operation Varsity Blues. Loughlin and her husband, designer Mossimo Giannulli, are accused of paying bribes of up to $500,000 in order for their two daughters, Isabella Rose and Olivia Jade, to be enrolled at the University of Southern California by way of being designated athletic recruits for the school’s crew team, even though the two did not participate in crew.
Hallmark parent company Crown Media issued a statement on Thursday: “We are saddened by the recent news surrounding the college admissions allegations. 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 was in Vancouver, filming a Hallmark project, when the news broke, according to the Vancouver Sun newspaper. She flew back to L.A. to face a charge of mail fraud and posted $1 million bail. While the judge gave her permission to travel back to Vancouver to finish her work, that might not be necessary any longer.
Since 2013, Loughlin has starred as Jennifer Shannon in 15 Garage Sale Mysteries movies. According to her IMDb page, she’s currently filming Garage Sale Mysteries: Searched and Seized. Another three movies in the series were listed to be in pre-production.
When Calls the Heart, the Hallmark drama Loughlin has starred in since 2014, is just three episodes into its sixth season, which is scheduled to run through April. Given the news, Hallmark said it will not air Sunday’s episode. It’s “evaluating all creative options,” a spokesman said in a statement to Yahoo Entertainment.
As for Loughlin’s daughters, USC says that it’s conducting a “case-by-case review” of students whose parents allegedly participated in the scheme. Daughter Olivia Jade has already lost partnership deals with Sephora cosmetics and TRESemmé hair products.
Read more on Yahoo Entertainment:
Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman’s courtroom sketches are talk of internet
‘Shameful’: Celebs react to college admissions scandal involving Felicity Huffman, Lori Loughlin
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