Newly-freed reality television personality Todd Chrisley is pushing for improved conditions for Black inmates.
The Chrisley Knows Best star and his spin-off shows spoke candidly at a Nashville press conference on Friday, alleging he witnessed unequal treatment of Black prisoners during his incarceration.
“Anyone that says it’s a fair shake, it’s not,” he said. “I dealt with young African American males in the prison that I was in that were not treated the same. They were denied programming. They were denied access to certain things.”
“I was not denied that, but we know why I wasn’t denied and so I think that’s a much bigger picture that we all as a society, as a whole, need to look at — that we are one,” he continued.
Todd Chrisley and his wife Julie received presidential pardons from Donald Trump following their 2022 sentencing for tax evasion and bank fraud exceeding $36 million. At the press conference, he maintained his innocence despite the conviction and its confirmation through appeals.
“Whether you believe it or not — because I was you at some point — even though this pardon has happened, I still was convicted of something that I did not do,” Todd said. “It could be you. It could be you, it could be any of you. And somewhere in this room, someone has had a family member that has been affected by the system.”
“I understand the shame that’s around it, but I refuse to feed into that because shame is like a cancer that just spreads and I have no shame,” he added.
The reality star’s daughter Savannah revealed that Todd Chrisley and his wife are making their comeback to reality TV with a fresh series that’s already in production.
“It’s honestly felt like a dream to have them at home,” said Savannah.
