Logo

AP, TMZ, TVWeek

Fallout From College Bribery Scandal: Cable Channel Cuts Ties With Actress, Daughter Loses Brand Partnership

Mar 14, 2019  •  Post A Comment

In a move that one media outlet is calling the cable channel’s “first tragic ending ever,” the Hallmark Channel severed ties today with actress Lori Loughlin over the college bribery scandal that erupted this week.

Hallmark Cards Inc., the parent company of the Crown Media Family Networks group that includes the Hallmark Channel, released a statement saying the company has stopped development on all productions involving Loughlin.

“We are saddened by the recent news surrounding the college admissions allegations,” the Hallmark statement says. “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.”

The AP notes that Loughlin has a long history as a star of Hallmark’s family-friendly productions.

“The company initially took a wait-and-see approach after a federal investigation of the scam involving more than 30 parents, many of them prominent, was revealed Tuesday,” the AP reports. “Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, are accused of paying bribes to gain their daughters’ college admissions.”

The report adds: “Loughlin’s career and the Hallmark Channel were deeply intertwined. She’s been among its so-called ‘Christmas queens’ who topline a slate of popular holiday movies, and also starred in the ongoing ‘Garage Sale Mysteries’ movies and the series ‘When Calls the Heart.’”

Loughlin’s daughter Olivia Jade has also suffered a setback in the immediate backlash over the scandal. TMZ reports that her partnership with the brand Sephora has been terminated.

TMZ quotes a “honcho” for Sephora saying: “After careful review of recent developments, we have made the decision to end the Sephora Collection partnership with Olivia Jade, effective immediately.”

TMZ also reported on Hallmark’s severing of ties with Loughlin, calling the move “Hallmark’s first tragic ending ever.”

2 Comments

  1. Nothing like the good, old guilty-until-proven-innocent, rush-to-judgement of the court of public opinion.

    Where the authorities usually go by making big, public, pre-trial announcements of their findings when they have cases of dubious merit or social value.

    Where’s the real stuff… the cases of government corruption and malfeasance by the elected at all levels.

    Oh right… they’d have to be investigating themselves, and we all know how well that would work.

  2. I don’t want to diminish just how terrible the college bribery scandal is but some of the reaction has been way over the top, particularly towards Loughlin. Oh, my, an actress who has built her career on playing sweet and wonderful might not be as wonderful in real life. Shock me some more. Loughlin is definitely getting hit harder that Felicity Huffman. My guess is that Hallmark will get an overwhelming number of requests for them to air Loughlin’s shows and she’ll be back on the channel with new material within 2 years. Either that or “Garage Sale Mysteries” will get shopped and picked up by another network & she’ll rebuild there.
    She’s gonna need the money. The $500 million lawsuit against her & her co-defendants by the Mother of a student who couldn’t get into those colleges despite having every qualification that didn’t involve cutting checks for a few hundred grand is only the first of many. I don’t think you can find a juror on the planet that won’t side with the plaintiffs in any of those cases.

Leave a Reply to aka:KJB Cancel Reply

Email (will not be published)