Lori Loughlin returned to Instagram more than seven years after being rocked by the college admissions scandal, and she got the help of her former Full House co-stars to make her long-awaited redebut.
The 62-year-old actress posted her first post on the photo and video-sharing social network since deleting Instagram in March 2019, amid news of the infamous Operation Varsity Blues bribery scandal that saw her spend two months in prison.
Loughlin — who revealed her divorce from 63-year-old fashion designer husband Mossimo Giannulli in October after 28 years of marriage — had pleaded guilty to paying $500,000 to enroll her two daughters at the University of Southern California in 2019.
After receiving half a million dollars from Loughlin and Giannulli, fixer Rick Singer got her daughters Isabella Rose, now 27, and Olivia Jade, now 26, onto the school’s rowing team, despite having no background in the sport.
Now, Loughlin has returned to Instagram, posting a video on Monday featuring appearances from Full House castmates John Stamos, Jodie Sweetin, Candace Cameron Bure, Scott Weinger, Andrea Barber and Dave Coulier.
Each star held up a cup of coffee as they said “Wake up San Francisco,” which was made famous by Loughlin’s television host Rebecca Donaldson and the late Bob Saget’s co-host Danny Tanner.
Lori Loughlin returned to Instagram more than seven years after being rocked by the college admissions scandal, and she got the help of her former Full House co-stars to make her long-awaited re-debut
Lori Loughlin (right) and her now estranged husband Mossimo Giannulli (left) were seen leaving the court in 2019. Loughlin pleaded guilty to paying $500,000 to enroll her two daughters at the University of Southern California in 2019.
After receiving half a million dollars from Loughlin and Giannulli, fixer Rick Singer got her daughters Isabella Rose (left), now 27, and Olivia Jade (right), now 26, onto the school’s rowing team, despite having no background in the sport (seen in November 2014)
After her castmates were shown off, Loughlin finally reappeared on her Instagram feed lip-syncing a famous line from Full House.
She pretended, “Hi, I’m Rebecca Donaldson and I’m welcoming myself back to the show. Welcome back Becky. Thanks, Becky.”
Then there was a lovely tribute to the late Saget – who passed away in January 2022 – which featured an old clip of him from Full House delivering the line while in character as morning show co-hosts on the series.
“Wake up San Francisco, I’m Danny Tanner,” Saget said in the clip before it cut to present-day Loughlin, who said, “And I’m Rebecca Donaldson.”
Loughlin simply captioned the clip: “Wake up, San Francisco! I’m back on IG [two heart emoji]’
In May 2020, Loughlin and her husband Giannulli pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in the college admissions bribery case.
Loughlin received a two-month prison sentence, a $150,000 fine and 100 hours of community service after the guilty plea.
She began her sentence in October 2020 in a federal prison in Dublin, California and was released in December.
The 62-year-old actress posted her first post on the photo and video-sharing social network since deleting Instagram in March 2019, amid news of the infamous Operation Varsity Blues bribery scandal, which saw her serve two months in prison.
Now, Loughlin has returned to Instagram, posting a video Monday featuring appearances from Full House castmates, including on-screen husband John Stamos
Sisters Jodie Sweetin (left) and Candace Cameron Bure (right) also appeared in the clip
Dave Coulier showed his humor while drinking from a pot of coffee
After her castmates were shown off, Loughlin finally reappeared on her Instagram feed lip-syncing a famous line from Full House
Then there was a sweet tribute to the late Bob Saget — who passed away in January 2022 — that featured an old clip of him from Full House delivering the line while in character, as they were the co-hosts of the series’ morning show.
“Wake up San Francisco, I’m Danny Tanner,” Saget said in the clip before it cut to present-day Loughlin, who said, “And I’m Rebecca Donaldson.”
Loughlin’s husband Giannulli received a five-month prison sentence with a $250,000 fine and 250 hours of community service.
He began his prison sentence in November 2020 and was transferred to home confinement in April 2021, about a month before his sentence ended.
The famous couple were busted during what was called Operation Varsity Blues – a huge nationwide scandal involving 33 parents.
At the center of the case was Loughlin and Giannulli’s youngest daughter, influencer Olivia Jade.
In YouTube videos posted before the scandal broke, Olivia told fans that she “didn’t really care about school” and was more interested in the social scene as she prepared for her upcoming college experience.
The influencer gave her followers advice on how to apply to college — just days before federal agents arrested her parents for their involvement in the conspiracy.
She has since apologized for the comments and returned to social media after a brief hiatus when the scandal unraveled in March 2019.
Loughlin was spotted with her daughters in Beverly Hills in March
In October, it was revealed that Loughlin and Giannulli were splitting after 28 years of marriage; they are seen together in April 2009
In 2022, she insisted she was a “straight A student” who “worked really hard” in high school, even before her parents paid $500,000 for her to attend the University of Southern California.
Professionally, Loughlin’s legal troubles sidelined her during the fifth season of Fuller House and her return to the small screen came in late 2021, appearing in a two-part Christmas special for the series When Hope Calls.
In October it was announced that Loughlin and Giannulli were splitting after 28 years of marriage.
“They are living apart and taking a break from their marriage,” Loughlin’s rep Elizabeth Much told the Daily Mail at the time. ‘There are no legal proceedings underway at the moment.’
