college admissions scandal

Here’s How the College Cheating Scandal Kids Have Responded So Far

Olivia Jade. Photo: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

In the wake of the college admissions scandal, plenty of questions remain: What did the kids of these parents know? How much did they know? When did they know it?

So far, most of them haven’t said anything, presumably for legal reasons, but a few have spoken out, or least made veiled references to the scandal. Here’s what they had to say. (Or what “sources close to the family” claim they had to say.)

Olivia Jade

While she hasn’t spoken publicly yet, a source told Entertainment Tonight that Olivia Jade, daughter of Lori Loughlin, is apparently furious at her parents for their involvement, and is “so embarrassed she doesn’t even want to go out.”

The source said that the beauty vlogging influencer is both “devastated” and “really angry with her parents because she told them she did not want to go to college and she was pushed.”

Since the scandal, Olivia Jade has lost lucrative spon-con deals from brands like Sephora and Estée Lauder, and has faced a ton of angry comments from Instagram teens, so it’s probably safe to say that she’s less than pleased about this particular turn of events.

Malcolm Abbott, a.k.a. “Billa”

In the days after the scandal broke, Malcolm Abbott, a rapper who also goes by “Billa,” notoriously stepped out to defend his parents’ alleged involvement, while smoking a blunt in front of their Upper East Side home. (His parents are accused of paying $125,000 to inflate his sister’s SAT and ACT scores.)

“They’re blowing this whole thing out of proportion,” he told New York Post. “I believe everyone has a right to go to college, man.”

Here’s Malcolm, looking the way only a white 21-year-old smoking a blunt could:

Like a true child of (alleged) scammers, he also used the opportunity to plug his mixtape, Cheese and Crackers; at his behest, the New York Post reviewed it. A few days later, Billa gave another interview to Vanity Fair, in which he described himself as “someone who hates classism.”

“We live in a classist world,” he said. “Time to end it.”

Jack Buckingham

So far, Jack Buckingham is the only kid linked to the scandal who has spoken up to express remorse. Jack, the son of marketing executive Jane Buckingham, gave a statement to The Hollywood Reporter after his mother was accused of paying $50,000 for an ACT proctor to take the test in his place. (He says he didn’t realize she had done this.)

“I know there are millions of kids out there both wealthy and less fortunate who grind their ass off just to have a shot at the college of their dreams,” he said in the statement. “I am upset that I was unknowingly involved in a large scheme that helps give kids who may not work as hard as others an advantage over those who truly deserve those spots.”

“For that I am sorry though I know my word does not mean much to many people at the moment,” he added.

Jack, who admitted that he’d been advised not to speak on the matter, said “it was probably not a smart idea to say anything but I needed to get that off my chest.”

He also told THR that he deleted his Twitter account “due to trying to avoid getting extra hate.”

Lilia Buckingham

Jack’s sister, Lilia Buckingham, remains active on Twitter, after accusations that their mother had discussed also wanting to pay someone to take a test in Lilia’s place because her daughter is “not a great test taker.”

However, aside from one tweet that seems to address the scandal (“hello beautiful people. thank u for your support. i love u all.”), she hasn’t made any statements, opting instead to tweet about Riverdale and promote her YouTube movie, Spring Breakaway.

How the College Cheating Scandal Kids Have Responded So Far