ATLANTA — Savannah Chrisley is defending her father as tensions remain between Todd Chrisley and his oldest son, Kyle.
Todd hasn’t spoken to Kyle since going to prison after being found guilty of criminal bank fraud and tax evasion in June 2022.
Todd, of “Chrisley Knows Best” fame, is currently serving 12 years in federal prison.
Savannah spoke out about their estranged relationship on the latest episode of her podcast.
“My dad has every reason not to speak to Kyle,” she said. “Just because it’s your child doesn’t mean that you have to accept abuse. It doesn’t mean you have to accept manipulation and hate and all these things.”
Kyle’s issues with substance abuse and run-ins with the law were part of the family’s reality series.
Savannah said she gets protective of her father when Kyle speaks about his dad, saying she feels like Kyle is seeking attention.
“People will do anything for a little bit of fame,” Savannah said. “What I don’t process well is having Kyle play the victim to life circumstances he’s created. What I don’t do well with someone who has abused people his entire life now trying to play victim, trying to get people to feel bad for him.”
RELATED STORIES:
- Todd Chrisley’s estranged son Kyle posts Father’s Day tribute ‘even though you won’t talk to me’
- ‘It is so beyond inhumane.’ Savannah Chrisley says mom Julie got sick from heat in prison
- Savannah Chrisley hopes to have Julie home by Thanksgiving as they fight to get Todd out of prison
- Savannah Chrisley says jail retaliation has gotten ‘extremely worse’ against Todd Chrisley
Over the Father’s Day weekend, Kyle took to Instagram to say he missed his father despite not speaking to him.
“Even though you won’t talk to me… I miss your ‘Goodnight, I love you, son’ texts more than you know. If only things were different…” Kyle wrote on the post.
“My father has not spoken to him and that is because, now, we are all at a place where we don’t have to be abused any further. We are allowed to create boundaries for ourselves,” Savannah said.
Kyle and his sister Lindsie are both from Todd’s previous marriage with Teresa Terry.
Prior to his imprisonment, Todd and Kyle were on speaking terms but that ended when Todd went to prison.
Channel 2 Action News first started investigating the Chrisleys in 2017, when we learned that Todd Chrisley had likely evaded paying Georgia state income taxes for several years.
Court documents obtained by Channel 2 Action News showed that by 2018, Todd and Julie Chrisley owed the state nearly $800,000 in liens.
The couple eventually went to trial and a federal jury found them guilty of bank fraud and tax evasion.
Last month, a federal appeals judge vacated Julie’s sentence and ordered the lower court to resentence her. So far, no date has been set for that. The judge also upheld Todd’s sentence.
Todd and his attorneys are currently working on their next steps to try and get him out of prison.
RELATED NEWS:
This browser does not support the video element.