Sticking by her friend. Sofia Richie responded to backlash for defending Olivia Jade amid the college admissions scandal. Olivia Jade, whose parents were arrested in March 2019 for their part in the nationwide college admissions scandal, broke her silence on the drama in an interview on Facebook Watch’s Red Table Talk on Tuesday, December 8.

A recap: Olivia Jade‘s parents, Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli, arrested in March 2019 after accusations that they paid $500,000 in bribes to the University of Southern California, so their daughters, Olivia Jade, 21, and Bella, 20, would be admitted into school as members of the crew team, even though neither daughter had experience in the sport. The two pled guilty to charges of fraud in May, and Loughlin, who was sentenced to two months in prison, started her sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, on October 30. Giannulli, who was sentenced to five months in prison, started his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution, Lompoc, a month later in November 19. Both Loughlin and Giannulli were also fined $400,000.

In her interview with Red Table Talk hosts Jada Pinkett Smith, Adrienne Banfield-Jones and Willow Smith, Olivia Jade confessed that her privilege is what led to her family’s mistake. “There is no justifying or excusing what happened because what happened was wrong, and I think every single person in my family can be, like, ‘That was messed up. That was a big mistake,’” she said. She continued, “I took my privilege and all my blessings for granted, and I never thought anything of it.”

Source: Instagram

After Olivia Jade’s interview, Sofia took to her friend’s Instagram to let her know how proud she was of Olivia opening up. “Yes, girl!!” she commented on Olivia Jade’s post promoting her Red Table Talk episode.“Can’t wait for what’s ahead.”

However, some users weren’t fans of Sofia’s comment and criticized her for “supporting” Olivia Jade’s “white privilege.” “white privilege supporting white privilege” one user wrote, along with a clown emoji.

Sofia, who is biracial, clapped back the comment, explaining that she wasn’t defending Olivia Jade’s privilege but expressing love for her friend. “We are all human, who make human mistakes. Life is too short to wish negativity on anyone. Sending you love,” she wrote.

Red Table Talk is available to stream on Facebook Watch.