Savannah Chrisley has been an advocate for her parents (and their critics) through their ongoing legal battle. Both Todd and Julie Chrisley were incarcerated earlier this year, but the show must go on. After recently opening up about being in talks to do another Chrisley show, she also got candid about TV versus real life, and opened up about not being happy that she had to keep quiet about what was going on legally when Chrisley Knows Best was still on the air.
In November of 2022, Chrisley Knows Best was canceled by USA parent company NBC following the outcome in the trial that found Todd and Julie guilty of bank fraud, among other charges. In the time since, Savannah Chrisley has continued to be open about her parents’ battle in her Unlocked podcast, and new details keep emerging about what her life has been like under a microscope.
Speaking to entertainment personality and radio broadcaster Storme Warren, the two talked about the face you put on on the air compared to your real personality. It was during the episode the 25-year-old star opened up about how hard it was filming their previous USA show when all of the legal stuff was going on-- mostly because the network reportedly wouldn't let her comment on it.
Well see, that’s kind of the comparison just like on TV. All throughout the years even like everything my parents have been going through. We were never allowed to speak about it. So we felt like the liars; we felt like the fakes. We’re like, ‘We just want to talk about it.’ But executives would not allow us to speak about it. So then we look like the liars.
While Chrisley didn’t call out USA Network specifically, the show she’d grown up on, aka Chrisley Knows Best, did air on the cabler. She said that when things cropped up that were personal or real, including her parents’ recent legal battle, she was told that wasn't the type of thing that was good for TV. In her eyes, this sort of suppression of her real personality has led to real "trauma" and it's something she's seen over and over again in the industry.
It literally will eat you alive. I have gotten to the point where I’m like, I don’t even know if I know who I am… I’ve talked to so many artists and the majority of them don’t know who they are outside of an arena or outside of a recording studio. There’s few, and a lot of them it’s like, ‘Well who are you?’ Oh, I’m a musician. No, who are you?... It’s gotta be exhausting.
Savannah Chrisley also opened up about “so much hurt” she endured as a kid on TV, mentioning that she’d moved from home at 17 because she felt like an “old soul.” She also admitted she doesn’t really “remember being a kid.” Now, she shares her truer self and real revelations on her Unlocked podcast, though that occasionally gets her into a bit of hot water. This happened recently when she made some bold claims about the prison mom Julie is locked up in.
As noted prior, all of this hasn't deterred her from TV as a whole, but we'll have to wait and see what happens next. If another reality show comes calling, it sounds like she'll want to have more of a say regarding what is and what isn't discussed. And that may include Todd and Julie's ongoing efforts to appeal.
