Lori Loughlin's daughter Olivia Jade called 'tone-deaf' for comments on white privilege amid college scandal
Lori Loughlin’s daughter Olivia Jade Giannulli is facing major backlash on social media after she posted about racism following the death of George Floyd and the protests over the tragedy.
The death of Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, who died last week after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes, has triggered demonstrations across the US. Police officer Derek Chauvin was fired after video showed him kneeling on unarmed Floyd’s neck. Chauvin was later charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter on May 29.
In the wake of the tragedy, Olivia Jade posted a message on her Instagram Story, where she wrote: “As a person who was born into privilege based on my skin color & financial situation, I was not always aware that these issues were still so present. And that makes me feel awful. But that also fuels me. It makes me want to learn more and do more and be better for all my beautiful black friends and any other person who faces discrimination.”
Continuing, the 20-year-old beauty influencer, wrote on Sunday, May 31, “I’m not racist and I never have been but I need to speak up about this because just not being racist isn’t enough. It outrages me. It makes me feel sick. It brings me to tears. THERE SHOULD NOT BE SUCH A GAP BETWEEN PEOPLE LIKE THIS. We need to support and stand up and speak and use our WHITE PRIVILEGE TO STOP THIS.”
However, her response did not go down well with social media users as they pointed out her white privilege and how her parents — actress Loughlin and fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli — were involved in college admissions scandal and paid $500,000 to get Olivia Jade and her sister, Bella, into the University of Southern California as crew recruits. In May, the parents pleaded guilty and will each serve time in jail.
"SHES THE DEFINITION OF WHITE PRIVILEGE SHE CONTRIBUTED TO IT WILLINGLY...her parents cheated her way into a school and only got 2 months in jail..she is not allowed to speak on the matter," one person on Twitter commented. “Her white privilege got her out of trouble,” said another while a third added: “She needs a reality check! So tone deaf!"
A fourth person pointed out: “The college admissions scandal contributes to the sense of outrage felt by many who take to the streets and violently protest systemic entitlement, privilege, and discrimination, while sweet lil olivia jade drops make-up tutorials like nothing happened. dumb, clueless, and tone-deaf."
“You really have no self-awareness. You are embarrassingly tone-deaf and need to legitimately pursue an education,” another critic of her Tweeted as Olivia Jade talked about making a TikTok video with her sister on May 30.
However, it was not just Jade who faced backlash on social media over her response. Stephanie Pratt was also called out recently and blamed for promoting violence against the demonstrators. Pratt on May 31 tweeted: “Shoot the looters — using this tragedy as their excuse to rob and burn all of our towns down.”