Is Olivia Jade Giannulli receiving special treatment on Dancing With The Stars? The influencer is on the game show to help rehabilitate her image after the disgraceful college admissions scandal. Rumors are floating around that she has a special deal in place to make the whole show worth her while. Here’s what we know.
Trying To Do Good
This season of Dancing With The Stars is notable for a few reasons. Jojo Siwa is the first contestant with a same-sex partner, and another Olympic Gold medalist, Suni Lee, is giving it a go. The cast is a healthy mix of athletes like Mike Mizanin, and reality stars like Matt James. Giannulli is another case entirely, for she’s mostly famous for more infamous reasons.
Giannulli is trying to rebuild her and her family’s image after her parents served federal prison sentences for the college admissions scandal. She’s been on an apology tour of sorts as her father and mother have both been working towards getting their lives on track after doing their time. Loughlin is preparing a comeback of her own with When Hope Calls.
Giannulli recently spoke about her reasons for joining the show, “I’m not trying to pull a pity card, but I just need to move forward and do better,” and added ‘I just want to show people that I have a different side to me, I have a strong work ethic.”
All A Farce?
Rumors began making the rounds this week after a blind item appeared on an unreliable gossip site that Giannulli has a dirty plan in place to ensure she gets special treatment. In an obvious attempt to capitalize on the college admissions scandal, some believe she’s been guaranteed at least three weeks on the show. The rumor gained enough traction that one of the show’s producers, Robert Mills, felt the need to weigh in.
Mills calls this rumor “the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,” and cites legal regulations. These regulations are in place because of the quiz show scandals of the 1950s. The regulations made it impossible to rig contests in the favor of one contestant in the name of ratings. The scandal was also the inspiration for Jeopardy!.
One wouldn’t necessarily think of DWTS as a game show, yet it is. Therefore, Giannulli cannot get special treatment. This rumor is bogus.
Not Half Bad
For what it’s worth, she finished in sixth out of 15 during the opening week with a score of 52. Last year Disney Channel star Skai Jackson finished 6th in week one and ended up finishing fifth overall. This suggests Giannulli could stick around for some time after a fairly high score. Only time will tell how she does and if the show can remove the air of scandal around her family.