Felicity Huffman spoke out about her involvement in the 2019 college admissions scandal for the first time in an interview with ABC-7 Eyewitness News on Thursday, November 30. The actress, 60, opened up about why she participated in the criminal scheme and expressed her “undying shame” for doing so. She also spoke out about helping A New Way of Life, an organization that helps previously incarcerated women get back on their feet.
The Desperate Housewives star admitted that she thought that she was acting in her daughter’s best interests when she took part in the college admissions scandal. “It felt like I had to give my daughter a chance at a future, and so it was sort of like my daughter’s future, which meant I had to break the law,” she said.
Felicity said that she reached out to college admissions consultant Rick Singer, the man at the center of the scandal, and she completely bought into everything he said. “After a year, he started to say, ‘Your daughter is not going to get into any of the colleges that she wants to,‘ and I believed him. And so when he slowly started to present the criminal scheme, it seems like – and I know this seems crazy at the time – but that was my only option to give my daughter a future,” she said. “I know hindsight is 20/20 but it felt like I would be a bad mother if I didn’t do it. So – I did it.”
Rick’s operation included bribing schools and falsifying test grades. Felicity was one of 33 parents who was charged, in addition to Full House star Lori Loughlin. The scheme was discovered following an investigation called “Operation Varsity Blues.” Rick was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison and to pay $10 million.
The actress also recalled her mixed emotions as she drove her daughter Sophia to take her SAT. She also opened up about the shocking visit from the FBI when the scandal was revealed. She admitted that at first she thought the visit was a “hoax” and a “joke.”
Felicity pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud in April 2019. She served 11 days in prison, paid a $30,000 fine, and performed community service. In the interview, she also offered an apology. “I think the people I owe a debt and apology to is the academic community. And to the students and the families that sacrifice and work really hard to get to where they are going legitimately,” she said.