Olivia Jade vs. Aunt Becky vs. the United States Government

By Joan Summers  |  January 22, 2020 | 2:30pm
CelebritiesDirt Bag
Olivia Jade vs. Aunt Becky vs. the United States Government
Photo:Getty Images

If Olivia Jade (or that other one, Bella) gets called to testify against her own mother in the college admissions lawsuit, will the publicity that generates turn her failing influencer career around? It’s a question I’ve been mulling over ever since Aunt Becky and husband Mossimo Giannulli (of the Target Mossimos) were slapped with additional charges in October, and later turned down plea deals in November. I’m cynical enough to believe Olivia would at least get a lucrative book deal out of the experience, but perhaps the drawn-out college admissions trial is melting my brain more than I realize.

Us Weekly reports that prosecutors have told Aunt Becky and her cabal of aspiring YouTubers that unless she and her husband change their pleas to guilty, prosecutors will force her daughters to testify against her. According to the outlet:

“Lori has been told by the legal team that the United States Attorney’s Office will use her daughters as star witnesses in hopes of securing a conviction,” the source tells Us, noting that the 55-year-old actress’ daughters “had their world turned upside down when their parents were indicted.”

A dirty trick, certainly, but will it actually spur the unusually stoic Loughlin into abandoning her year-long press strategy of complete and utter silence. And, unlike prior reports, it appears that the government does have evidence to indict the disgraced couple. The source tells Us Weekly that a photo of Bella with rowing machine that was used in the wide-ranging fraud will come up at trial, because “Bella did so at the direction of her parents.”

Us Weekly also reports that Olivia and Bella could invoke the Fifth Amendment, and delay their testimony until they’ve been handed a “presentment or indictment” by a grand jury. So there’s still hope for them! What is definitely dead, however, is Olivia’s Youtube channel. After making a brief return to the platform to talk circles around her involvement in the trial, her legal counsel allegedly advised her to shut that shit down. Sad! [Us Weekly]

I have two questions: Would you be friends with Wendy Williams, and would you tell Wendy Williams your secrets? I ask, because NeNe Leakes has learned the dangers of wading into the turbulent waters around the only good daytime host left on television—and also because thought experiments are fun or whatever!

Enetertainment Tonight reports that reps for NeNe have spoken after Wendy claimed that the longtime Real Housewives of Atlanta would be exiting the Bravo flagship. According to her spokesperson: “It’s been an especially difficult couple of weeks for NeNe, and she was venting to her friend in private correspondence. Nothing has been confirmed or officially decided for next season.” Of course, this didn’t stop Wendy from spilling about that “private correspondence” on Tuesday’s Wendy Williams Show, where she claimed that NeNe had texted her “I’m quitting.”

Obviously, your friends should not tell your business on national television unless you’ve worked up a dastardly deal to use each other for clout and publicity, which is what I would do. But, what did NeNe expect when she texted Wendy? This wouldn’t be the first time the host brought up their off-the-record conversations in public, or talked about NeNe’s personal life on national television. This isn’t to excuse her actions, but this seems par for the course if Wendy is on speed dial.

Still, this isn’t to encourage crimes or fraud, but this arrangement could be useful to NeNe. Leak that she’s quitting to Wendy after a particularly difficult season of RHOA. Wendy blabs about it on TV and the story gets picked up by the blogs, until reps for Bravo are forced to comment. Bravo then calls NeNe, who negotiates a higher salary or role with the bargaining chip that she might quit. Sounds like an airtight plan to me, but what do I know! [ET]

Did you know that a new Lady Gaga song may or may not have leaked yesterday? And if you have or have not heard it, what do or what would you think about it, even though it may or may not exist? I ask, only, because I may or may not have heard it as well, even though it does or does not exist. [Just Jared]