The latest Chrisley drama started over Instagram followers — or at least that’s what their patriarch thinks.
Todd Chrisley said in a new interview that he believes his family is estranged from his daughter Lindsie Chrisley because she was bitter that her sister Savannah Chrisley had more Instagram followers than her.
“It started out with Savannah having way more social media followers, and then [Lindsie] wasn’t getting enough time on [‘Chrisley Knows Best’],” Todd, 52, claimed to “Entertainment Tonight” Monday. “Lindsie wasn’t, at that time, willing to allow the cameras into her personal life. She wouldn’t tell the world anything.”
He added, “She is my daughter, and I love her. There was just some kind of emotional battle that Lindsie has had within herself and jealousy amongst her siblings.”
Lindsie, 31, left the USA Network reality show in 2017, but she has continued to update fans on her life via her social media pages. She is currently in the process of divorcing her husband, Will Campbell, after nine years of marriage.
While Todd was quick to blame Instagram for their family’s rift, there was also drama in 2019 over him accusing Lindsie of having extramarital affairs with “Bachelorette” alums Robby Hayes and Josh Murray. Lindsie claimed in a police report at the time that her dad “was going to release [a] sex tape involving her” and Hayes, 32.
However, Todd denied shopping the alleged tape around, telling “ET” Monday, “There was never any extortion. That was all used for headlines. That was used to gain social media following.”
He added, “She’s our daughter, and I will tell you that the anger was there for a long time. Revenge and anger belongs to the devil. So I walked with the devil. I was dancing with the devil there for a minute. God allowed me to get back into my faith. … I had to remember that I am a father first. When you have children and you discipline your children, the world’s not gonna see that. But when Todd Chrisley disciplines his children, it’s a headline.”
The reality star also acknowledged that he and his wife, Julie Chrisley, no longer communicate with Lindsie, whom he shares with his ex-wife, Teresa Terry.
“I received a text message from Lindsie about two weeks ago,” he said. “I turned that over to our attorneys because we don’t feel that it’s safe to communicate. Every time that I’ve done that it’s been twisted and turned, and in the position we’re in, we can’t run that risk.”
Todd and Julie, 48, were cleared by the state of Georgia on tax fraud charges in 2019, but they are still facing a 12-count federal indictment.