Eva Longoria is one of 27 people who have submitted letters of support to the judge overseeing Felicity Huffman‘s trial in the college admissions scandal.
The two actresses worked together for years on the ABC series Desperate Housewives and grew extremely close during their time on set.
Felicity pleaded guilty to paying $15,000 to have a proctor correct her daughter’s answers on the SAT exam. Prosecutors have recommended that she be sentenced to one month in jail, followed by 12 months of supervised release and a $20,000 fine. The letters of support from her peers were submitted in hopes of a better sentence.
“I worked with Felicity for nearly a decade of my life on a television show. Seeing her every day of every week for nearly 15 hours a day. When I began the TV show, I was very new to the business and industry as a whole. Felicity was the first one to take me under her wing,” Eva wrote in the letter, which was obtained by People.
Eva opened up about the time when she was the only lead cast member on the show who was not nominated for a Golden Globe.
“I was the only one who was left out of the nominations. I wasn’t devastated but the press made it a bigger deal than it was between the four of us actors and that did affect me a bit,” Eva said in the two-page letter. “Felicity came to my trailer and said, ‘It’s just a piece of metal, that and $1.50 will get you a bus ticket.’ She then proceeded to tell me how talented I was and how I never needed an award to know that. Her humor always made things better, but it was her heart and intentions to make sure I was always OK that I remember most. I don’t know why she always felt like she had to protect me. Maybe because I was the youngest on the cast or naive about the industry; whatever it was, I am forever grateful.”
“I know I would not have survived those years if it wasn’t for the friendship of Felicity,” she continued. “I also know these things may sound like first class problems or small insignificant moments. But to a young, naive, Mexican girl who felt like I didn’t belong, those gestures meant the world to me. She mattered. And everything she did to help along the way, mattered.”
Eva also highlighted Felicity‘s philanthropy in the letter and how she was the only cast member on Desperate Housewives who would support her causes.
“The most special part about this is that my charities were always for children of the Latino community. I did the work because I am Latino, but Felicity didn’t have to, she wanted to,” she said. “There were so many times Felicity was the only white woman in the room helping me improve the lives of these brown faces and families. I will never forget that.”
“She always leads with her heart and has always put others first. This is why I still call her my friend today and always,” Eva concluded.
READ MORE: Felicity Huffman, In Her Own Words, Explains Why She Arranged to Cheat on Daughter’s SAT Exam
