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Amanda Seyfried reacts to Elizabeth Holmes starting 11-year prison sentence

Seyfried portrayed the disgraced tech entrepreneur in Hulu miniseries ‘The Dropout’

Inga Parkel
Thursday 01 June 2023 09:25 BST
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Elizabeth Holmes Convicted Of Fraud Over ‘Blood-testing’ Start-up Theranos Original Video M206123 (1)

Amanda Seyfried made a Good Morning America appearance on the same day disgraced tech entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes began her 11-year prison sentence.

“Timing is everything,” host Michael Strahan noted, with Seyfried – who starred as the convicted Theranos founder in Hulu’s 2022 miniseries The Dropout – acknowledging the coincidence: “I heard that. Today’s the big – yeah, weird, you know.

“I feel for those kids. There’s two kids that are hanging in the balance here, as a parent, as a mom...,” she trailed off, uncomfortably.

“Life’s not fair, but in a lot of ways it’s fair, for her in particular.”

On Tuesday (30 May), Holmes reported to federal prison in Texas to begin her 11-year sentence, minutes before a court-imposed deadline.

Follow The Independent’s live blog for real-time updates here.

The 39-year-old was convicted in January 2022 of four counts of fraud and conspiracy for lying about the capabilities of her biotech company’s blood testing technology and conning investors out of millions of dollars.

Amanda Seyfried in The Dropout (left) and Elizabeth Holmes in 2014 (right) (Disney+/Getty)

She was sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison and ordered to pay $452m in restitution to investors – including $125m to media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

Earlier this month, a federal appeals court rejected Holmes’s initial bid to remain out of prison while she attempts to overturn the conviction.

She was, however, granted a delay to sort out several issues, including childcare for her one-year-old son William and three-month-old daughter Invicta.

Her children, whom she shares with her husband Billy Evans, will be allowed to visit their mother in the facility.

Holmes had been given until 2pm local time to surrender to the prison camp where she will see out her sentence surrounded by other white-collar, non-violent female offenders.

She was originally due to begin her prison sentence on 27 April.

Seyfried’s portrayal of Holmes in the eight-episode true-crime series about her downfall, earned the actor an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie.

Up next, the Mean Girls star can be seen opposite Tom Holland in Apple TV+’s forthcoming crime-mystery miniseries The Crowded Room, a project Holland said he’s “never been more excited to share” with fans.

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