Savannah Chrisley is opening up about fighting for her parents’ freedom, and standing up for prison reform in the American penal system.
The reality star, and host of the podcast Unlocked With Savannah Chrisley, spoke with ET’s Rachel Smith at her home in Nashville, Tennessee, on Wednesday, where she opened up about how her parents — Todd and Julie Chrisley — have been dealing with their prison sentences.
“It’s been really tough [for them] since I started speaking out about everything,” Savannah shared. “That’s been the toughest part. More so for Dad. There’s been a lot of retaliation, so we have to worry [about him].”
Savannah has been speaking out on her podcast — as well as in a previous interview with ET back in September — about the living conditions she says her parents have had to contend with since their time behind bars began.
In the months since she started sharing her allegations of mistreatment and poor living conditions, Savannah claims the guards have been targeting her father.
“Right now they’re trying to move him from the facility he’s at now, because of the latest things that I’ve posted on Instagram. And that’s the tough part — the moment you start speaking out, you have to pay for it.”
According to Savannah, Todd is being prevented from setting up phone calls with his lawyers.
“Which is a huge thing because… it’s a non-recorded phone call to where you can speak about the things that are happening to you to your lawyer, [and] they’re not letting him do that,” Savannah stated.
She further alleged that she believes guards have been discussing the possibility of cleaning out her father’s inmate commissary account, and claimed, “That’s their way of retaliating against these men for speaking out. They’re literally going to starve them to death.”
Despite this, Savannah says her father doesn’t want her to stop talking about his situation, regardless of the consequences.
“He and I have had the discussion [and] his exact words were, ‘If I have to be uncomfortable in order to hopefully implement and force change, then I’m willing to do it,'” Savannah said.
As for her mom’s situation, Savannah explained that she hasn’t been targeted as badly.
“[However, her living conditions are terrible,” Savannah stated. “And some of the male guards, they definitely speak down on the women [in jail]. They make them feel like garbage.”
Todd and Julie were convicted on fraud charges in November 2022 and reported to prison in January. Todd is serving his reduced 10-year prison sentence in Pensacola, Florida, while Julie is serving a reduced five-year sentence in Lexington, Kentucky.
They are both appealing the conviction, and Savannah told ET, “now we’re just waiting on the appeals court to rule on how to move forward.”
“Hopefully things go in our favor and they’ll be home sooner than later,” Chrisley shared. “I know how hard I’m fighting, and so I hope and pray. Obviously nothing has gone in our favor whatsoever, so I just hope, literally everyday, I just pray.”
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