Felicity Huffman was spotted for the first time since breaking her silence on the Varsity Blues scandal.
The former “Desperate Housewives” star spoke out Friday, saying she had to bribe her daughter into college “to give her a future.”
Huffman, 60, was spotted leaving Vibiana in downtown Los Angeles, donning a casual all-black outfit with a large gray scarf.
She completed the look with a messy bun, round sunglasses and black and white Nike Dunk Lows.
EXCLUSIVE: Felicity Huffman was spotted leaving Vibiana, a venue in downtown Los Angeles, just days after speaking out about her involvement in the college admissions scandal
The actor wore a casual all-black outfit with a large gray scarf and black and white Nike Dunk Lows
She reportedly helped organize a Christmas party at the venue. Huffman wore an open black leather jacket and was holding what appeared to be a wallet or a phone
The actor bribed con artist Rick Singer with $15,000 in 2017 to manipulate her daughter Sophia’s SAT score and increase her chances of being admitted to America’s top universities.
She was arrested in 2019, spent 11 days in jail and was fined $30,000 for the crime.
“It felt like I had to give my daughter a chance at a future. And so it was kind of like my daughter’s future, which meant I had to break the law,” Huffman added.
She was just one of many wealthy, famous celebrity parents caught up in the scandal.
Actress Lori Loughlin was also jailed for paying for her two daughters to get into USC.
In her first public comments outside the courtroom, Huffman, 60, told ABC that she thought it was a “joke” when FBI agents showed up at her home to arrest her.
“They came to my house, woke my daughters up at gunpoint — again, nothing new for the black and brown community — then folded my hands behind my back and handcuffed me.”
“I asked if I could get dressed. I thought it was a joke. I literally turned to one of the FBI guys in a body armor and a gun and said, “Is this a joke?”
The former Desperate Housewives actress smiled as she left Vibiana
The actor bribed fraudster Rick Singer with $15,000 in 2017 to manipulate her daughter Sophia’s SAT score. She was arrested in 2019 for her involvement and spent 11 days in jail
Her daughter Sophia is currently studying theater at Carnegie Melon and said she had no idea her parents had hired Singer
Huffman fined him $30,000 for the crime. Other famous and wealthy personalities such as Lori Loughlin also took part in the program
Although Huffman said she regretted the plan, she also felt she had no choice but to do it for her daughter Sophia, who she had previously said had a learning disability and would not have been accepted otherwise .
“I think I feel like the people that I owe something to and that I need to apologize to are the academic community and the students and families that make sacrifices and work really hard to get to where they are want to go there legitimately.”
Sophia is currently studying theater at Carnegie Melon.
During the interview, she talked about how she became involved with A New Way of Life, an organization that helps formerly incarcerated women reintegrate into society.
“I want to use my experience and what I’ve been through and the pain to do something good,” she said.
Huffman and his actor husband William H. Macy hired Singer to help Sophia improve her grades so she could go to college.
She claims the plan wasn’t obvious at first, but became clear when Singer told them Sophia wouldn’t be accepted into a school without greasing the wheels.
“It felt like I had to give my daughter a chance at a future. And so it was kind of like my daughter’s future, which meant I had to break the law,” Huffman said
Huffman said her daughter Sophie was nervous on the day of the SAT test and asked if they could go out for ice cream afterward
During the scheme, Singer had paid a handful of discreet SAT test takers who inflated students’ scores after they took the test
“After a year he started saying your daughter won’t be going to any of the colleges she wants.”
“And I believed him. And then as he slowly started to introduce the criminal plan, it seemed to me – and I know it seemed crazy at the time – but this was my only chance to give my daughter a future.
“And I know hindsight is 20/20, but I felt like I would be a bad mother if I didn’t do it.
“So – I did it,” Huffman said.
Sophia didn’t know that her parents had paid for someone to change her test answers after she completed the SATS.
During the scheme, Singer had paid a handful of discreet SAT test takers who inflated students’ scores after they took the test.
On the day of the SAT test, Huffman said Sophia was nervous and asked if they could go out for ice cream afterward.
“She asked, ‘Can we have ice cream after?'” Huffman recalls. “I’m afraid of the test.”
In her interview with ABC, Huffman said she regretted getting involved but felt she had no choice but to do it for her daughter Sophia, who she previously said has a learning disability
Huffman and his actor husband William H. Macy hired Singer to help Sophia improve her grades so she could go to college
She joined A New Way of Life, an organization that helps formerly incarcerated women reintegrate into society. “I want to use my experience and what I’ve been through and the pain to do something good,” she said
She claims the plan wasn’t obvious at first, but became clear when Singer told them Sophia wouldn’t be accepted into a school without greasing the wheels
Huffman sported a serious poker face as she walked in front of a red SUV. She felt that her daughter might not have gotten into college if she hadn’t agreed to the plan
“What can we do that’s fun?” And I kept thinking, turn around, just turn around.
“And to my undying shame, I didn’t,” Huffman said.
Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giuliani had their daughters pose as sports stars and prop them up on rowing machines to rig job applications that portrayed them as athletes.
Singer, the mastermind behind it, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison in January this year.