YouTube star Olivia Jade Giannulli has responded to a jibe about her in the revived series of Gossip Girl.
In 2019, the influencer found herself at the centre of the college admissions scandal (also known as Operation Varsity Blues) after it emerged that her mother, Full House star Lori Loughlin, had paid $500,000 (£359,000) in bribes to get her daughters into college.
Loughlin eventually pleaded guilty to the crime, serving two months in prison last year. Her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, was sentenced to five months for his role in the scandal.
The high-profile case is referenced in the opening episode of HBO Max’s Gossip Girl reboot, which dropped on the US streaming platform this week and follows a new group of privileged teens living in New York’s Upper East Side.
In the clip, students Monet (Savannah Lee Smith), Julien (Jordan Alexander) and Luna (Zion Moreno) are plotting while out on a walk, when a reference is made to Giannulli’s social media following.
“You as someone who loses is bad for business,” Monet says, with Julien replying: “I didn’t lose anything.”
“And everything will be fine so long as you win,” Luna adds. “Olivia Jade gained followers when her mom went to jail.”
In a video posted to TikTok on Saturday (10 July), Giannulli used the clip from Gossip Girl as a green screen, shaking her head at the comment.
“No, I didn’t,” she added in response.
The Gossip Girl reboot will debut on BBC One and BBC iPlayer later this year.
