Olivia Jade Giannulli is dedicated to learning from her experience.
Olivia Jade appeared on Jada Pinkett Smith's Red Table Talk. The episode premiered Tuesday, during which it was revealed that Olivia approached Jada about making the appearance.
Jada took her up on it, knowing it would be a polarizing subject. The privilege Olivia benefited from was astounding, and many struggle to feel sympathetic for her. Jada believed that her willingness to face three Black women in a frank discussion about what happened was a big step in the right direction. Furthermore, she sympathized with Lori Loughlin and Olivia as the mother of a child who has grown up in the spotlight as well.
"People go 'your kids are gonna be fine because they rich. We don't care.' And that's painful, and it's not true," Jada said.
"I feel like Olivia deserves a space."
In the 30-minute interview, Olivia showed a dedication to owning up to her family's mistakes. She admitted to not understanding the depths of her privilege until this situation provided her a reality check.
Olivia admitted that at the beginning, she wasn't even sure why people were mad. Parents donating to schools to garner influence for their kid's future attendance was normal among their circles.
Olivia was so safe in her privilege that she was on spring break when her parents got arrested. Her first thought? That everyone around her was going to find out in a matter of minutes. She quickly made her way home.
"I remember thinking, 'How are people mad about this?' A lot of kids in that bubble, their parents were donating to schools and doing stuff that, like, so many advantages. It's not fair and it's not right, but it was happening," Olivia noted.
Olivia looked back on her old YouTube videos, where she brags about how she doesn't care about going to school and is only in it for the experience. She admitted that she's mortified that she was so engulfed in her privilege that she didn't realize how ridiculous that sounded.
"That sits with me and makes me cringe, and it's embarrassing that I ever said those types of things — and not only said them but edited it, uploaded it, and then saw the response to realize it was wrong," she said of the videos.
"There was no malicious intent behind it. I was never trying to hurt anybody or say those things to brag about my life. I was oblivious. I sit here now, and I'm like, 'How don't you realize stuff like that? That's embarrassing that that did fly over your head.'"
Olivia took multiple opportunities to apologize and emphasize that she's not looking for anyone's sympathy. All she wants is a second chance to prove she can be a better person and learn from her mistakes.
"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,'" she said.
"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."
