Yahoo Finance John Stamos Stands Up for Lori Loughlin Post-College Admissions Scandal: 'She Wasn't Really the Architect'
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John Stamos is opening up about his longtime friend and costar Lori Loughlin's involvement in a nationwide college admissions scandal.
The 59-year-old actor defended his former Full House castmate on Monday's episode of the Armchair Expert podcast.
"You said some really nice stuff about her," he told host Dax Shepard. "We talked last night about you. It was something that you were saying about how you hate when people bring her up because if you defend her then people get mad. If you don't defend her, then you feel bad because she's a great person."
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The Big Shot star went on to say that Loughlin, 58, was not the mastermind behind the scandal.
"I am going to say this, and she said I could. She wasn't really the architect of any of it — she was in the way background," he explained. "She didn't know what was going on."
Stamos added that she tried to make amends for her involvement, saying, "She also paid a lot of money. She set up a college fund for kids and she went to f---ing jail man."
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RELATED: Dave Coulier Says Lori Loughlin Was the 'Last' Full House Cast Member He Thought Would Go to Jail
Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli were both arrested in March 2019 for their involvement in the college admissions scandal organized by Rick Singer. The couple pleaded guilty in May 2020 to paying $500,000 to falsely designate their daughters, Olivia Jade Giannulli and Isabella Rose Giannulli, as recruits to the University of Southern California crew team, even though neither ever participated in the sport.
Loughlin received two months in jail, a $150,000 fine, and 150 hours of community service, while Giannulli, 59, was sentenced to five months in jail, a $250,000 fine, and 250 hours of community service. The actress started her prison sentence in October 2020 and was released from the federal correctional facility by December of that year.
Since then, Loughlin has returned to acting and recently attended her first red carpet event. She also previously appeared on Stamos's Instagram Live to pay tribute to their late Full House costar, Bob Saget, who died on Jan. 9.
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In June, Dave Coulier revealed he never would've expected Loughlin to be the Full House cast member that was put behind bars in an interview with E! News.
"If you would have said at the beginning of Full House, 'Who's the one person who's going to end up going to jail?' Lori was last on the list," he said.
"Everyone has their opinion," he added of Loughlin's involvement in the scandal. "There's a lot of untold story underneath that I don't think a lot of people know. We all make mistakes."
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Since their time on the beloved sitcom, it seems as though little has changed for the costars and their tight-knit bond.
"Lori is my best girl friend in life," Coulier shared. "We make each other laugh really hard, through the tough times and the fun times."
