2019’s Biggest Controversies Are Getting the Lifetime Treatment

Layla Ilchi

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Lifetime is bringing three of the year’s biggest scandals to the small screen.

The network announced Tuesday three new projects surrounding musician R. Kelly’s sexual assault allegations, convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein’s child sex trafficking operation and the college admissions scandal, which involves celebrities like “Full House” actress Lori Loughlin, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli and “American Crime” actress Felicity Huffman.

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Loughlin’s story will be the center of the upcoming film, “College Admissions Scandal,” which follows the March 2019 news story where more than 40 adults were charged for allegedly using bribes to get their children admitted to elite colleges. Loughlin and husband Giannulli have been charged with multiple counts of fraud and money laundering and can face up to 40 years each in prison if found guilty.

While the cast for the film hasn’t been revealed, Lifetime stated that the two-hour movie will “follow two wealthy mothers who share an obsession with getting their teenagers into the best possible college.” The announcement states that the two characters work with a consultant named Rick Singer — the same name of the real-life “consultant” who allegedly facilitated the bribery — who offers them a “side door into the prestigious institutions of their dreams.”

For its latest investigative documentary, Lifetime is focusing on the recent development of Epstein’s sexual assault and child trafficking case. The disgraced billionaire was charged and arrested on July 6 for one count of sex trafficking of minors and one count of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of minors, according to court documents.

Titled “Surviving Jeffrey Epstein,” the documentary will chronicle Epstein’s ties to the rich and famous and how he used his connections to mask his sexual predatory behavior against young girls.

Lifetime’s upcoming R. Kelly documentary is a follow-up to the highly popular special that aired in January. The initial docuseries featured interviews from multiple sexual abuse victims, who recounted their harrowing stories of alleged assault, physical and emotional abuse and captivity.

The four-hour follow-up, titled “Surviving R. Kelly: The Aftermath,” will provide interviews with new victims and survivors, and psychologists and experts to speak about the case. Kelly is currently facing sexual abuse charges in Illinois and is expected to face more charges in New York on Aug. 2.

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