“I had to break the law”: Felicity Huffman opens up about “Varsity Blues” college cheating scandal

Actress Felicity Huffman broke her silence on the college admissions scandal that gripped the nation four years ago, discussing serving 11 days in jail for paying to help get her daughter Sophia into college.

In an exclusive interview with Los Angeles ABC station KABC, Huffman said she owes an apology to the academic community and students and families that sacrifice and work hard to get into college.

“It was sort of like my daughter’s future, which meant I had to break the law,” Huffman told KABC. “I know hindsight is 20/20 but it felt like I would be a bad mother if I didn’t do it. So, I did it.”

Huffman explained why she paid a $15,000 bribe for a proctor to correct wrong answers and falsify the results on her daughter’s SAT test, which ultimately landed her in prison.

Huffman described the guilt she remembered feeling while driving her unknowing daughter to take that test back in 2017.

“I kept thinking … Just turn around. And to my undying shame, I didn’t,” Huffman said.

The following year, the FBI was at her home. Huffman said the agents woke her daughters up at gunpoint before taking her into custody.

“I literally turned to one of the FBI people in a black jacket and a gun and I went, ‘Is this a joke?'” she recalled.

The Desperate Housewives alumna was one of the 33 parents, including actress Lori Loughlin and her husband, designer Mossimo Giannulli, who faced federal charges in the so-called “Varsity Blues” scandal, pleading guilty to their involvement in 2020.

As part of her mandated community service after pleading guilty, Huffman worked with New Way of Life, an organization that assists formerly incarcerated women.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.