'Full House' star Andrea Barber stands by Lori Loughlin: 'I think the world of her'
Lori Loughlin still has a friend in her Full House co-star Andrea Barber.
Barber defended Loughlin, who appeared on both the beloved ABC sitcom and its Netflix reboot, Fuller House, in an interview Monday on the 3rd Hour of Today. Barber was there to promote her new memoir, Full Circle: From Hollywood to Real Life and Back Again, in which she writes that Loughlin has been “vilified by the media.”
Barber was asked what she wanted people to know about Loughlin, who made her last appearance on the show’s fourth season, which was released in December 2018, before Loughlin was accused of participating in the college admissions scandal.
“I want them to know that I love her so much and I’ve told her that over and over again, and she is forever part of the Full House family,” Barber said. “We’re all still very tight. And I think the world of her.”
Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, allegedly paid $500,000 for their daughters, Olivia Jade and Bella, to be accepted at the University of Southern California under the guise of being rowing recruits. Loughlin now reportedly faces up to 50 years in prison, if she’s convicted in a trial expected next year.
Still, Barber was unwavering in her support for Loughlin, who co-starred alongside her in the original Full House, beginning in 1988. When Loughlin joined the show in its second season, she was 24. Barber was just 12.
The younger actress confirmed that she continues to stay in touch with Loughlin.
Barber also fielded a question about what it was like to film the upcoming fifth and final season of the rebooted sitcom without the real-life Aunt Becky.
“She was not part of the final season, unfortunately, and we did, as a cast we did feel her absence,” Barber said. “It did feel like there was a hole in the family.”
Barber said much of the same thing last week, as she defended Loughlin, on Us Weekly’s “Watch With Us” podcast.
“She was a big part of Fuller House. She wasn’t in every episode, but her presence was definitely felt,” Barber said.
She added that Loughlin’s absence was certainly felt, even though she only appeared in a handful of episodes per season, 13 in all.
“We wish it wasn’t that way, and we wish she could be here because it definitely feels like there’s a hole in our hearts and a hole on our set,” Barber said. “But we understand that this is the decision that was made, and we respect it. But she’s always in our hearts forever. Every time we step on stage, she’s in our hearts.”
Over the weekend, the cast shared photos of the final moments of filming the beloved sitcom. Although original cast members John Stamos, Dave Coulier and Bob Saget — who, like Loughlin, appeared on the show only occasionally — were on set, Loughlin was nowhere to be found.
However, Stamos, who played Loughlin’s TV husband, notably shared photos that included her on social media.
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