Following her decision Monday to plead guilty, Desperate Housewives actress Felicity Huffman will now face charges for committing fraud among other parents accused for bribing distinguished universities to admit their kids in the largest U.S. college admissions scandal taken to court. Additionally, Netflix has now decided to pull Huffman’s upcoming movie, Otherhood, from release.
Otherhood was originally set to premiere on the streaming platform in just a couple weeks, on April 26. Following the college scandal, the site has decided to delay the movie's release, perhaps due to the timing of the intended release. However, no plans for a later release date have been announced. Otherhood also stars Patricia Arquette and Angela Bassett, and is centered on three suburban mothers who travel to New York City together to visit their sons.
Felicity Huffman is potentially facing up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $20,000 after being accused of paying $15,000 to a fake charity that allowed her to have an impersonator sit in and cheat on the SAT’s for her oldest daughter, wrongfully qualifying her for the university, per The Guardian. Huffman recently released a statement detailing that her daughter was unaware of her dealings and showed remorse for her actions. In her words:
I am in full acceptance of my guilt, and with deep regret and shame over what I have done, I accept full responsibility for my actions and will accept the consequences that stem from those actions… My daughter knew absolutely nothing about my actions, and in my misguided and profoundly wrong way, I have betrayed her. This transgression toward her and the public I will carry for the rest of my life. My desire to help my daughter is no excuse to break the law or engage in dishonesty.
Huffman is one of 50 people charged in the scam and one of 13 who have decided to plead guilty on the charges. Her husband, William H. Macy, has not been charged of the crimes. Full House actress Lori Loughlin and her designer husband Mossimo Giannulli are also under fire in this scandal, though their allegations point to up to $500,000 being paid to have their daughters enrolled into USC.
Netflix has also taken action against Lori Loughlin in light of the scandal, as it recently dropped her from the final season of its show Fuller House. Unlike Otherhood, Fuller House has not yet begun filming, but Loughlin could be busy serving out a prison sentence, depending on what the court decides.
The actress was also dropped from her contract with the Hallmark Channel, where she has starred as Abigail Stanton in What Calls The Heart since 2014, along with numerous TV movies. The television show has recently announced the show will still go on even without Lori Loughlin, though changes are currently being made the scripts.
Following these moves by Netflix, one has to wonder what will come of Felicity Huffman’s other projects on the way: a Netflix miniseries called When They See Us from Ava DuVernay which is set for release on May 31 (though Huffman seems to have a supporting role in the project), and her other film, Tammy’s Always Dying. Perhaps the streaming service has decided to postpose Otherhood due to timing of Huffman's name in the headlines and will still decide to release her titles with them.
