Todd and Julie Chrisley on Critics, Trump Pardon and The Masked Singer
Life after lockdown: Todd and Julie Chrisley’s reveal as the Croissants on ‘The Masked Singer’ could cause some controversy — given the reality TV couple’s conviction of tax evasion and bank fraud, followed by a pardon by Trump. But Todd told me Variety that he has not experienced a negative personal encounter in the months since he and Julie were released from prison.
Online, of course, it’s a little different. “You have people saying things on social media that they used to love us, but now that Trump has pardoned us,” he said. “Their problem is who pardoned us. It’s not that we were pardoned, it’s who pardoned us. So I would say to anyone who has a problem with that, if they were in our situation and President Trump could have pardoned them, they would have been in line to get that pardon.”
Julie said she hasn’t seen much backlash because she believes the couple has been transparent about what happened after being sentenced in November 2022 to a combined 19-year prison sentence (which was later reduced). The couple reported to prison in 2023.
“If we didn’t talk about it on ‘Chrisley Knows Best,’ it was because that was a decision the network made,” she said. “They didn’t really want to delve into that. But we’ve never shied away from what we’ve been through, and it’s taken so long to get to the other side. We just look at it like it’s our story. And so we’re going to tell our story. Who better to tell our story than us.”
Todd said he doesn’t respond to the criticism unless it’s aimed directly at him. “I live my life based on what I know is the right thing to do for me, my wife, my children and my mother. I try not to be rude. I try not to offend people,” he said. “But if you knock on my door and come to my door, I have something ready for you.”
In their quest for pardon, the Chrisleys argued that their conviction was the result of political persecution, even though there was no evidence of that. Now Todd Chrisley has softened that tone, saying, “I don’t want my conversations to be political. I don’t want the moves I make to be politicized. I want the world to know that Julie and I and our family are the same today. Our core value system is still the same, and it’s still intact. We are a family that loves people, and our love is not conditional because you love this person, or you live this way, or you believe in this. We are so blessed that everyone who sitting at our table, for the most part has a different political opinion. And yet here in Nashville we still eat together. We still have a great time. We are there for each other when something happens and that is what the world needs.
“You can sit down and say, ‘I hate President Trump,’ ‘I hate Joe Biden,’ ‘I hate Obama,’ ‘I hate Clinton.’ That’s just like a football team. I love Clemson University. That’s where Julie and I grew up, but my son goes to Alabama, so we can’t root for Clemson when they play Alabama. Just understand that you have another team you’re rooting for. But do it with respect, do it with kindness and do it with generosity,” he said. “And if we could all get to that place in life, I think the world would be a much better place.”
On “The Masked Singer,” the Chrisleys performed “Jailhouse Rock” on last week’s episode, and they agreed it might have been a little too flashy.
“We’ve been committed to it since it happened, we haven’t run from it,” Todd Chrisley said. “And it just felt good. It was like, ‘You’re not going to hold this over our heads, you’re not going to shame us with this.’ And I just felt good about that song. I’ve always loved that song and it just felt fitting.”
Between “Jailhouse Rock” and the clue package, it wasn’t hard to figure out that it was the Chrisleys — and sure enough, panelist Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg quickly identified them.
“We told the people at ‘Masked Singer’ that these clues are too telling,” Todd said. “It’s too new, they’ll figure this out quickly. I’ve known Jenny for years and I always felt she would be the one to figure this out.”
The Chrisleys’ daughter, Savannah, appeared on “The Masked Singer” in season 11 as the Afghan Hound, but Todd and Julie didn’t tell her they were going on the show. At least she’s figured it out.
“The day we were on set, I got a text from her and she said, ‘Are you on Masked Singer?’ And I said, ‘Why would you ask that?’ And then she called and said, “Dad, someone there on set just texted me and said they ran into you and Mom.” So that’s how she found out.”
Why “The Masked Singer”? “I’m not going to lie, I was a little worried,” Julie Chrisley said. “Todd can sing. He has a great voice. He recorded a song with Sarah Evans before. So I knew he would do well. It was something that was completely out of my comfort zone, but I was excited to do it.”
Then came the costume and the croissant sealed the deal for the two of them. “Savannah’s late fiancée, Nic Kerdiles, who died in a motorcycle accident, was French, and I felt like that was a nod from him because we love him so much,” Todd said. “I just looked at Julie and said, ‘We have to make the croissants.’”
The Chrisleys said they are busy with five different series this year: In addition to Lifetime’s “The Chrisleys: Back to Reality,” Julie has a new cooking show, as well as another show with Savannah, while Todd is working on a separate project in Britain.
“I say this often, so many people who go through what we went through have their whole world shattered. There’s nothing left for them,” Todd said. “We were blessed that that didn’t happen to us. We were able to come home to our house, we had a car, we could have our clothes, we could sit down to a nice dinner. And so many people don’t have that. So it’s been a very humbling season for our family, and it has exposed us to families that we probably would never have interacted with. And so I look at it, and I look at where our lives are today and how blessed we have been since we’ve been home. And I don’t take it for granted.
Watch the Chrisleys as they are unmasked on “The Masked Singer”:
