That house just got a little less full.
Page Six reports that Netflix has removed Aunt Becky from “Fuller House,” the spin-off to the ’90s sitcom “Full House” that made stars of John Stamos and the Olsen twins. “The streaming service has booted actress Lori Loughlin from her role in ‘Fuller House‘ in the wake of this week’s college admissions scandal,” reports the outlet.
According to TMZ, a “well-placed production” source said that Aunt Becky will not be written into the fifth season of “Fuller House.”
Loughlin being dropped from the iconic show that catapulted her to success comes one day after the Hallmark channel announced she would no longer be a featured talent.
“We are saddened by the recent news surrounding the college admissions allegations,” Hallmark Channel’s parent-company Crown Media said in a statement to Fox News. “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. We are evaluating all creative options related to ‘When Calls the Heart’ series.”
Loughlin was released from police custody on a $1 million bond this week after being charged for participating in a massive college bribery scheme the FBI code-named “Operation Varsity Blues.” She and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, have been accused of “agreeing to pay $500,000 in bribes to have their two daughters designated as recruits for the University of Southern California crew team,” according to a Fox News report on Thursday.
As a result of the charges, E News reports that a source says Loughlin and her husband’s life has become a “terrible nightmare,” with the family now living in seclusion:
“They can’t come out and face the world,” the source shares. “They are in seclusion and alone with the exception of their lawyers.” Lori has also deleted her social media accounts on Instagram and Twitter.
At the moment, Lori is facing charges for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. If convicted, she could face up to five years in prison. She and Mossimo are currently out of jail on $1,000,000 bond and expected to appear in a Boston Federal court on March 29.
Regardless of whether or not there is a conviction, the source says the entire family knows “their lives will never be the same.”
Defenders of the parents caught up in the bribery scandal say they allowed their parental love to get the better of their judgment. Actress Oliva Munn, however, ripped that excuse to shreds in a scathing Twitter rant on Thursday.
“What these parents did wasn’t for love, it was for fancy diplomas,” Munn wrote. “Love would’ve made you spend that money on tutors to make your kids smarter, giving them an actual education.”
More jocular folks on Twitter pointed out the irony of Lori Loughlin getting caught up in the bribery scandal, being that an episode of “Full House” featured her and John Stamos’ character, Uncle Jessie, cheating on the application process to get their sons into pre-school.