Olivia Jade has given her first interview since the college admissions scandal that infamously landed her parents, actress Lori Loughlin and fashion designer in Mossimo Giannulli, in prison. However, Jade was met some resistance when she reached out to Red Table Talk whose three female hosts [Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith, and Adrienne Banfield-Norris (Gammy)] were divided over the optics of a letting a wealthy, privileged white girl use their show to restore her reputation after her parents essentially bribed her way into a college education that she didn’t even want or need.
“You know, I fought it tooth and nail,” Gammy stated right up front. “I just found it really ironic that she chose three Black women to reach out to for her redemption story. I feel like here we are, [a] white woman coming to Black women for support when we don’t get the same from them. It’s just, it’s bothersome to me on so many levels. Her being here is the epitome of white privilege to me.”
But despite Gammy’s objection, Jade was allowed to speak freely about her experience, which she openly admits was “messed up” and a “mistake.” She specifically regrets how she didn’t realize how the whole situation was wrong as it unfolded and tried to explain why she was a willing participant in the scandal. Via Red Table Talk:
“I was like, ‘Well, this is what everybody does and my parents worked really hard, and I don’t understand.’ But that’s not, that’s not how it should be and unfortunately that’s how it was. And I’m grateful for the situation to see that big change and that big difference in my own mind to know like, ‘Okay, Olivia, the fact that you were on YouTube and you were saying stuff like, ‘I don’t want to go to school, I just want to go party at school…’ Like, the fact that you even could say those things just shows how fortunate you were. That you didn’t have to worry about that. That you knew you were gonna be okay without it.’ And that sits with me and makes me cringe and it’s embarrassing that I ever said those types of things, and not only said them but edited it, uploaded it, and then saw the response to realize it was wrong. There was no like malicious intent behind it. I was never trying to hurt anybody or say those things to brag about my life, it was just — I was oblivious.”
While Jade voiced her concerns about her life going forward, Gammy brought the bluntness back. “You know, so there are some people who would feel like, ‘She’ll be fine.’” Pinkett Smith said, causing Gammy to jump in with, “I feel that way. Clearly. I feel like you will be fine.”
You can watch the full Red Table Talk interview with Olivia Jade below: