Former Growing Up Chrisley star Savannah Chrisley claims to have found the silver lining in her parents Todd and Julie Chrisley being sentenced to prison.
The 26-year-old– who appeared as the Afghan Hound this week on The Masked Singer– admitted to Page Six that, prior to her parents serving time behind bars, she was “so tone-deaf.”
“I lived such a privileged life,” she told the outlet following her exit from the celebrity singing show. “I didn’t [ever] have to endure any of these things, and so, to me, if it wasn’t happening to me, it wasn’t happening at all.”
As The Ashley previously reported, the former Chrisley Knows Best couple are currently serving time in prison–- 12 years for Todd and seven years for Julie-– for tax evasion and fraud crimes. (The couple went on to have their sentences reduced in September– two years off for Todd and one year off for Julie.)
In Todd and Julie’s absence, Savannah has taken on the role of caretaker for her younger siblings, 17-year-old Grayson and 11-year-old Chloe.
Savannah admitted she was previously “so ignorant” to things going on in the world– specifically the injustice of the prison system–- and wants to encourage others to “open [their] eyes to something bigger.”
“Don’t be like me,” she cautioned.
Savannah noted the alleged abuse that occurs inside of prisons, along with other issues she was unaware of prior to her parents’ incarcerations, calling the system “broken and abusive.”
“When you go in and you actually look at the abuse, the sexual abuse … the fact that they’re consuming food that says, ‘Not for human consumption,’ … we should not have a system that is full of abuse,” she said.
In a December phone interview with Brian Entin of Nation News (conducted through Todd and Julie’s attorney), Todd called the food being served in prison “so disgustingly filthy,” claiming many food items were “a year past expiration” and stored in a facility where rats, squirrels and black mold were present. He also accused prison staff of mistreatment and claimed the warden is trying to “break” him.
Last week, Savannah–- who has expressed interest in attending law school–- took to social media to share what she has learned about criminal justice reform over the last 14 months, admitting to followers that she didn’t have an interest in the topic until it impacted her family.
“I have spent the past 14 months educating myself on our government systems and how we can better them,” she wrote on Instagram. “Many people say; ‘I love how she didn’t care about this before.’ You are RIGHT! I didn’t… and I am ashamed to say that. I grew up privileged… I truly had no idea the abuse and corruption ran so deep within the government that I was taught to love and respect.
“Now I know… and when you know better, you do better!” Savannah continued. “I will continue the fight for criminal justice reform NOW and long after my parents return home.”
Savannah also claimed in the post that her life “has been filled with trauma from such a young age.”
“But now I realize that life is full of disappointment and trauma…it can be hard to get out of bed and just get through the day. Some may ask; What helps you from giving up the relentless fight for life? Well.. that would be finding my WHY! In the midst of disappointment… find your WHY! Purpose is everything! Find the meaning in your struggle, that’s what’s given me the power to push forward through unimaginable pain.”
Savannah has remained very outspoken about the alleged conditions both of her parents have been subjected to behind bars, and doubled down this week on claims that her speaking out has resulted in “some retaliation against them– specifically [her] father.”
Despite this, Savannah said both she and her parents agree that speaking out is worth the risk.
“ … at the end of the day, we’ve realized that we are being outspoken and what we’re saying could potentially implement change,” she said.
(Photos: USA Network; Instagram)
I just like how Tod’s corset is visible through blue his shirt in the pic!
“if it wasn’t happening to me, it wasn’t happening at all”
This is why having empathy for others is so important.
Maybe if she got a job she’d hear better.
Todd and Julie were railroaded! Drug dealers don’t get the time they got. Come on they were piled on! These two woo be out in a year
I thought the “tone deaf” bit was going to be about her time on the Masked Singer.
I do have to give credit to Savannah for acknowledging her privilege and lack of knowledge.
I watched her on the Special Forces show and found her to be likeable.
The problem I have is her not acknowledging her parents might have broken laws and committed fraud.i understand Savannah speaking out against this might affect future court proceedings and her relationship with her parents.
She didn’t really acknowledge her privilege or lack of knowledge though. All she really said is “no one in my family has ever been in real trouble or held accountable, so we don’t really know what actual prisons are like”.
She’s as tone deaf as she’s always been. She still doesn’t acknowledge that she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth and all she’s ever done with it, is upgrade it to gold.
It doesn’t matter how likeable someone seems, if they choose to remain willfully ignorant. None of what she says (or her parents said) about the prisons they are in, is actually true. Daddy doesn’t like being told what to do, when to eat, or being held even the tiniest bit accountable, so he makes shit up along the way hoping their rich people privilege will continue to give them the life, and lifestyle, they think they deserve. She’s standing by him and claiming them being in prison is a personal injustice against them, lmao.
It’s kinda funny that she was saying she was “tone deaf” because her family hasn’t really dealt with the criminal justice system.
While currently having her brother’s daughter, Chloe, in her custody because Kyle (& Chloe’s mother) lost custody due to drugs. And Kyle has been in and out of jail for years.
So when her brother was getting arrested, well that’s okay because he deserves it, but her parents get arrested and that’s not okay.
Exactly, she really hasn’t “admitted” anything, except that she’s as willfully ignorant as she’s always been.
It’s not because the information isn’t out there, or is difficult to obtain. That would be actual ignorance and not inherently a bad thing-it can be remedied. Her flavor of ignorance is willful because she was raised-and apparently never grew out of-believing that she and her family are better than the rest of the world. She’s a spooner, to the nth degree and still doesn’t see it.
Poor Grayson and Chloe are being raised the same way and that’s not going to help them navigate life much at all.
Your parents wouldn’t be in such awful prisons if they weren’t criminals. I’m waiting for her realization that they got what they deserve for the crimes they’ve committed
Agreed. But, she is talking about the prison system as a whole, government policies as a whole, unfairness as a whole.
No she’s not, lmao.
She’s talking about her daddy’s perceived personal injustice because he’s not in full control of everything going on. They don’t like being held accountable for their actions and choices, so he’s making shit up about the “prison” he’s in.
There is a shit ton of injustice in the world today, plenty of actual prisons, jails and government policies that need a total reform. But none of that actually affects her parents. They are serving out pretty cushy sentences in pretty cushy places, with more amenities, services and privileges than 95% of the people in our prison system today.
She’s still willfully ignorant, her whole family is. She thinks if she keeps being loud about it, someone will “do something”. By do something, she means let her parents out early, and it’s not because of injustice but their rich people privilege, that makes them think personal accountability doesn’t apply to them.
JFC this moron, I swear.
The injustice is that her parents (and so many like them) aren’t REALLY held at the same standards the rest of the world is. They are in cushy ass prisons being coddled, rather than actually being responsible for the choices they’ve made in life.
I see she’s still very tone deaf and ignorant to literally everything going on around her in the world, as is the entire family, and everyone just like them.
In other breaking news….
Water is still wet!!! Keep watching for our exclusive at 11
She needs to stfu, and go away.
I really thought she was finally going to admit that she was tone-deaf on the fact that she lives and the life she has is because her parents broke the law to do it. That everything she has is based on crimes. They wouldn’t have gotten a tv show, if they weren’t pretending to be that wealthy. And do any introspection, but nope it’s still everyone else fault. And she’s going to be the next Kim Kardashian, esq.
I’m sure jails are not plesant, I think it’s disgusting that there is such a thing as a “for profit” prison, I think it should be outlawed. No one should profit off of humans being in jail. The food is vile. Abuse does happen and is abhorrent.
But at the same time if jails were pleasant then what’s the incentive to not commit crimes. The people who commit those crimes are also criminals. Some people there are convicted of some pretty violent crimes, some sex crimes. That’s what prisons are for, criminals.
So what does she want a special prison for the people she has deemed don’t really need to be in jail? Or her father’s genius idea of spending the rest of his sentence in his mansion that he paid for being defrauding people. That’s not how jails work.
Was?