YouTuber in College Scandal Unremorseful

Olivia Jade is a famous YouTuber and social media influencer known for being the daughter of actor Lori Loughlin and for posting content about fashion, makeup, and her life as a (former) University of Southern California student. Since the Varsity Blues college admissions scandal, she is also famous for getting into University of Southern California (USC) by pretending to be a coxswain. Her parents submitted a photo of her on a rowing machine as proof she played for the made-up team the Los Angeles Marina Club. In her videos, Jade showcases her glamorous life as a privileged woman from a famous family, attending a prestigious school in an upper-class neighborhood of Los Angeles. Her fans love the insight she gives into this lifestyle and her videos have a similar vibe to that of shows like Keeping Up With the Kardashians. While her videos are entertaining, they lack depth. Some common videos she made include ones about discussing slang with her mom, posting about her daily routine as a college student, and the gifts she receives for Christmas.After Jade’s parents got caught for paying Rick Singer — the mastermind behind the scandal — $200,000 to help get Jade into USC, she went offline for months. She briefly posted an Instagram photo last summer, in which she flipped off the camera and tagged many media outlets in her caption, seemingly expressing outrage at the media coverage her parents were receiving. She quickly deleted this. Since the scandal, Jade’s famous influencer friends have continued to support her on social media, commenting on her posts to show support. Perhaps this serves as evidence of her sincerity, but that still doesn’t mean a real apology is not required.A few months later, on December 1, 2019, she posted a video entitled “hi again” and touched on her family’s involvement in the scandal but explained that she couldn’t legally discuss it and that she wants to keep creating content for her YouTube channel. She did not apologize, despite the fact that prosecutors have argued she knew about the bribery and fraud that was committed to earn her admittance to USC.Jade does not deserve to keep producing content as if nothing happened. She owes her fans, many of whom are in high school or college and were accepted into their schools because of hard work, not bribery or fraud, an apology. And a sincere one where she owns up to her mistakes, not one where she just says she wants to come back but that she won’t discuss her college cheating because it would negatively impact her family’s legal case.Until she truly apologizes for her actions, Jade cannot be forgiven. She has lived an extremely privileged life as the daughter of a wealthy actor and a fashion designer. By faking her way into USC, she took the spot a more deserving student would have had. Her actions in the Varsity Blues scandal clearly demonstrate an appalling level of ignorance, and entitlement. Her fans and the greater YouTube community cannot let this abuse of privilege go unchecked. Her rambling attempt at addressing this scandal in her December video does nothing to reconcile this. Jade should not get to continue to profit off her YouTube videos until she apologizes. If she wants to be forgiven, she needs to be honest.