Tyra Banks recently interviewed with Entertainment Tonight and said she believes Olivia Jade is “brave” for joining the cast of the latest Dancing With the Stars cast.
Banks, who hosts and is an executive producer of the show, defended Jade’s casting.
“I think Olivia is so brave. I think people don’t know her. They know what happened to her,” Banks explained. “She has said that she did not know about what was going on, and it’s really sad, and it’s very hurtful when something publicly happens, but you had nothing to do with it. So I trust that she says she didn’t know.”
“She is having to deal with that, and I think she’s coming to Dancing With the Stars to be able to tell her story and show her vulnerability,” Banks continued. “And is she a celebrity? Not traditionally, but what is a celebrity today? If that’s the case, then there’s no Instagram influencer that is a celebrity. We are in a whole different world, and celebrity has taken a turn and a change.”
“If people are talking about you, you’re famous,” Banks added, “And you can be on Dancing With the Stars.”
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In a previous chat with the outlet, Jade mentioned that she hoped to be given a second chance to prove another side to her.
“I just want to make it very clear that it is important to learn from the past, and I am a big believer in second chances,” she said. “I am still young, and I am still trying to figure it out, and I hope that I just continue to grow every day. And I think because this process is so challenging, you learn so much about yourself, which I am excited for. [I’m] putting myself outside of my comfort zone.”
Last year, Olivia’s parents, Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli were arrested after a college admissions scandal. Loughlin and Giannulli paid $500,000 to bribe the school to admit their daughters, Olivia and Isabella, to the University of Southern California.
The parents attempted to sneak the kids into the school as recruits for the crew team, though neither had played the sport before.
Ironically, Banks is defending a young woman who didn’t lose anything after the scandal. Jade stands to earn $295,000 for appearing on the show. And although she didn’t finish college, the celebrity kid earned $1 million annually as a YouTuber and social media influencer. She was embarrassed, but how can Banks advocate for a second chance when Jade never lost the first one?
