Sofia Richie defends Olivia Jade after tell-all college admissions scandal interview: 'We are all human' - Fox News

Sofia Richie voiced support for Olivia Jade Giannulli in the wake of her viral "Red Table Talk" interview and then was met with some criticism herself.

Lionel Richie's 22-year-old daughter took to Instagram with a kind message to Olivia, 21, who sat at the red table with Jada Pinkett-Smith, Willow Smith and Adrienne Banfield-Jones for her first-ever public comments about the nationwide college admissions scandal that landed her parents in prison.

"Yes girl!! Can't wait for what's ahead," Sofia commented on Olivia's Instagram post featuring a clip from her Tuesday appearance.

One fan reportedly called out Sofia, writing, "white privelege supporting white privilege" in a now-deleted comment. However, the model was quick to respond.

VIEWERS REACT TO OLIVIA JADE'S 'TONE DEAF' APPEARANCE ON 'RED TABLE TALK' TO DISCUSS COLLEGE SCANDAL

Olivia Jade Giannulli, 21, opened up for the first time about the nationwide college bribery scandal that landed her parents behind bars. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

"we are all human, who make human mistakes. Life is too short to wish negativity on anyone. Sending you love," Sofia wrote on the social media platform.

Some fans grew defensive of Sofia for the backlash she received and argued that because she is "mixed race" the fan's accusation was wrong. Sofia was born to her Black entertainer father, and her mother, Diane Alexander, is a White former model and dancer.

One person agreed with Sofia's positive response. "Yes we've all made mistakes, especially as young people and we should all give each other some grace and the opportunity at a second chance or forgiveness."

Another called the model's reaction her "mood for the rest of 2020 and the rest of my life."

LORI LOUGHLIN BEGINS HER 2-MONTH PRISON SENTENCE FOR ROLE IN COLLEGE ADMISSIONS SCANDAL

"A beautiful response to hateful words," a third person agreed.

Olivia Jade Giannulli told "Red Table Talk" on Tuesday that her family "messed up." She also said she believes she deserves a second chance to show that she has "grown" since the scandal. (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

In the bombshell prerecorded interview, the influencer daughter of actress Lori Loughlin and fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli opened up for the first time as Loughlin, 56, and Giannulli, 57, are carrying out overlapping prison terms. She discussed how her family's been coping with her parents' current sentences, not being angry at them and the backlash she faced online because of her privilege.

Olivia described: "I think that what hasn't been super public is that 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.' But I think what's so important to me is to learn from the mistake, not to now be shamed and punished and never given a second chance because I'm 21. I feel like I deserve a second chance to redeem myself, to show I've grown."

When the news of the bribery scandal broke in March 2019, Olivia said she felt "embarrassed" and "ashamed."

"I'm not trying to victimize myself. I don't want pity. I don't deserve pity. We messed up. I just want a second chance to be like I recognize I messed up. And for so long I wasn't able to talk about this because of the legalities behind it. I never got to say I'm really sorry that this happened or I really own that this was a big mess-up on everybody's part. But I think everybody feels that way in my family right now," Olivia continued. 

OLIVIA JADE ‘DID NOT SECURE A WIN’ WITH APPEARANCE ON ‘RED TABLE TALK,’ BRAND EXPERT SAYS

Olivia's interview was met with mixed criticism from those watching at home. Some were quick to side with Pinkett Smith’s mother, Adrienne Banfield-Jones, who admitted she was against having the 21-year-old on the show.

Sofia Richie showed support for Olivia Jade Giannulli on Tuesday after her first public interview on the college admissions scandal went live. (Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage/Getty)

One Twitter user wrote: "Very glad she pointed out the fact that a white girl chose a talk show of three black women to try and gain redemption on."

"It’s Jada’s mom DRAGGING Olivia Jade for me," someone else wrote.

Others believed that Olivia, despite saying she's learned from the experience, still struck a relatively tone-deaf note during parts of her interview. 

"I’m 7 mins in to Olivia Jade on Red Table Talk but y’all..... Olivia describing her mom’s prison sentence as 'a reflection period.' wheeewwww!!! I’m buckling up," another user wrote.

"the fact that I genuinely believe olivia jade didn’t understand why her parents paying 500,000 dollars to get her into college was wrong. what a life," someone else added.

MOSSIMO GIANNULLI REPORTS TO PRISON TO BEGIN 5-MONTH SENTENCE IN THE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS SCANDAL

Fox News spoke with Eric Schiffer, chairman of Reputation Management Consultants, who lent his professional impression on Olivia's appearance on “Red Table Talk” and said the interview from the lifestyle and beauty influencer, 21, likely left viewers with more questions than answers.

“The world is tired of whiny, spoiled, hypocritical brats who think they can go on a talk show and be able to absolve themselves with one appearance,” Schiffer said of the display following the episode on Facebook Watch. “During a period in which her family was indicted for the biggest scam in American college admission history, Olivia chose to regularly preen on Instagram and for the camera like nothing was happening and her behavior and Lori Loughlin's behavior during court were very similar.”

Schiffer lent his own professional advice to the young influencer, arguing that she should not have appeared on the show. Instead, Schiffer suggested Olivia should "go out and help kids who can't get into college" instead of staying active on Instagram.

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“Do the work, if you really care about these things and you want to show remorse, show it through action," he said.

Loughlin started serving a two-month term behind bars in August after she and her fashion designer husband pleaded guilty to charges stemming from $500,000 payments to scam mastermind William “Rick” Singer to get their daughters, Olivia and Isabella, recruited onto the crew team at USC. The two had never participated in the sport. Giannulli is serving a five-month prison sentence.

In their plea agreement, Giannulli agreed to serve five months and pay a $250,000 fine along with two years of supervised release and 250 hours of community service. Meanwhile, Loughlin got a lighter sentence, with a judge ruling for her to spend two months in prison, pay a $150,000 fine and commit to 100 hours of community service. 

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Bureau of Prisons records viewed by Fox News show Giannulli's release date is set for Saturday, April 17, while Loughlin is scheduled to be released Sunday, Dec. 27.

Fox News' Jessica Napoli, Tyler McCarthy and Julius Young contributed to this report.

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