Sofia Richie defends herself against charges of ‘white privilege’ as she publicly supports her friend Olivia Jade after her Red Table Talk interview
Sofia Richie made it clear she still supports her friend Olivia Jade Giannulli following a contentious conversation on Jada Pinkett Smith’s Red Table Talk on Tuesday.
After Oliva Jade shared a snippet of the interview about her participation in the college admissions bribery scandal on her Instagram page, Sofia jumped into the comments with words of encouragement, though she was swiftly attacked by other users.
‘Yes girl!! Cant wait for what’s ahead,’ the 22-year-old model initially gushed about the clip, in which her friend said she wasn’t trying to ‘victimize’ herself and didn’t want ‘pity.’
Controversial stance: Sofia Richie, 22, cheered on her friend Olivia Jade Giannulli on Instagram on Tuesday, only for other social media users to attack her; seen in February 2019
The sentiment didn’t sit well with some, include one user who claimed Sofia’s comment was an example of her privilege.
‘@sofiarichie white privilege supporting white privilege,’ they wrote, adding a clown emoji at the end.
Multiple people also commented, with some of them claiming that Sofia, whose father Lionel Richie is Black, couldn’t be the beneficiary of white privilege.
Hours later, Sofia returned with a rejoinder: ‘we are all human, who make human mistakes. Life is too short to wish negativity on anyone. Sending you love.’
Read the room: She supported Olivia, who was on Red Table Talk to talk about the college admissions scandal and to defend herself
Clap back: One user replied to her and claimed her comment was an example of ‘white privilege’
High road: Sofia said everyone makes ‘human mistakes’ and said ‘life is too short to wish negativity on anyone’
Famous father: Some users said Sofia couldn’t be the beneficiary of white privilege because her father, Lionel Richie, is Black; seen together in February in West Hollywood
Olivia Jade’s presence at the red table was hotly opposed by Jada’s mother Adrienne Banfield-Jones, who tore into her at the start of the show before she came out.
‘I fought it tooth and nail. I just found it really ironic that she chose three Black women to reach out to for her redemption story,’ she told Jada, 49, and her granddaughter, Willow Smith, 20.
‘I feel like here we are, [a] white woman coming to Black women for support when we don’t get the same from them. Her being here is the epitome of white privilege to me.’
Although Jada was understanding, she replied, ‘I never want to be the thing that was done to me by white women.’
Out of the loop: Olivia Jade claimed on Red Table talk that she was ‘sorry,’ and she said she was ‘confused’ about the application process
Olivia appeared to obfuscate any possible knowledge of her parents Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli’s attempts to get her into the University of Southern California by lying about her participation on a non-existent rowing team, in hopes that she would be accept as an athletic prospect.
According to the Los Angeles Times, a assistant US attorney wrote in a memo on prison sentence recommendations for her parents that Olivia Jade had spoken with them about ‘how to avoid the possibility that a high school counselor would disrupt their scheme.’
She claimed to Jada and her family that she was ‘confused’ about the application process and she claimed that ‘I didn’t really 100 percent understand what just had happened.’
She also finally offered a passive-tense apology, claiming she couldn’t earlier because of ‘the legalities behind it.’
Different stories: However, an assistant US attorney wrote in a sentencing recommendation that she had had conversations with her parents about it, according to the Los Angeles Times
Meanwhile, Sofia was back home in Southern California following a trip to the Bahamas late last month.
The celebrity child has been modeling since the age of 14, when she was featured in an issue of Teen Vogue, with her first management contract coming a year later.
Though her career has continued to grow, she received renewed attention for her relationship with Kourtney Kardashian’s ex Scott Disick, who is 15 years her senior.
Their unorthodox relationship, which began in 2017, found her going on family trips with Scott and Kourtney’s family.
However, they broke up in August following Scott’s stint in rehab earlier in the summer and a brief reconciliation in July.
Kardashian adjacent: Sofia reached new levels of fame in 2017 when she began dating Kourtney Kardashian’s ex Scott Disick. The two separated in August; pictured in August 2019
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