Tyra Banks, the presenter of "Dancing with the Stars," has spoken out in support of the show after Olivia Jade was revealed as a contestant in the most recent season following her role in the college admissions scam.

Given what Olivia Jade was involved in, leading to both parents to be imprisoned for a brief period, it was understandable that there is going to be some backlash and violent reactions to the decision.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, the show's presenter and executive producer defended the decision to let Lori Loughlin's daughter to participate in Season 30 after it was discovered that her parents spent huge sums of money to get her and her sister into the college of their choosing. Although some would not agree, Banks did not mince words. She called the young girl brave and hinted that she believes Olivia's claim of not knowing about the hocus-pocus that transpired to get her into college.

ALSO READ: 'Jeopardy!' Full-Time Hosts Officially Revealed -- But Only For This Season: Will There Be More Guest Hosts Soon? 

"I think Olivia is so brave. I think people don't know her, they know what happened to her," Banks told the outlet. "She has said that she did not know about what was going on and it's really sad, and it's very hurtful when something publicly happens but you had nothing to do with it. So I trust that she says she didn't know."

Loughlin completed her two-month sentence for her part in the incident in December. Loughlin agreed to serve two months in prison, pay a $150,000 fine, and complete 100 hours of community service in exchange for a two-month sentence and a $150,000 fine. Mossimo Giannulli, her husband, was sentenced to a five-month prison sentence and a $250,000 fine, as well as two years of supervised release and 250 hours of community service. In April, he was released from jail.

 

"She is having to deal with that and I think she's coming to 'Dancing With the Stars' to be able to tell her story and show her vulnerability," Banks continued. "And is she a celebrity? Not traditionally, but what is a celebrity today? If that's the case then there's no Instagram influencer that is a celebrity. We are in a whole different world and celebrity has taken a turn and a change."

Banks claimed that the fact that Jade is so widely known, means she deserves to be on the show. "If people are talking about you, you're famous. And you can be on 'Dancing with the Stars," she said.

Olivia Jade previously spoke up about the situation during an appearance on the Facebook Watch series "Red Table Talk," in which she apologized for her family's behavior and stated that she feels she deserves a second chance.

"I think that what hasn't been super public is that there is no justifying or excusing what happened because what happened was wrong. And I think every single person in my family can be like, 'That was messed up. That was a big mistake,'" she said at the time. "But I think what's so important to me is to learn from the mistake, not to now be shamed and punished and never given a second chance because I'm 21. I feel like I deserve a second chance to redeem myself, to show I've grown," she said. 

ALSO READ: Angelina Jolie Waves The White Flag And Wants Brad To Heal