Brian Laundrie · The Chrisleys · Tom Petty
Jeopardy's true-crime effort gets buzzed
the true crime that's worth your time
First, some housekeeping: This is a short week for Best Evidence, with a regular issue today and a discussion thread tomorrow. The rest of the week, Sarah and I will be binging on carbs with our Substack tab shut; your next BE will arrive in your inboxes on Monday November 28. We wish you best for the holiday/days off/your regular life because you aren’t in the U.S., and as always, we remain very thankful for all of you! — EB
Will Chrisley Knows Best continue when its matriarch and patriarch are in the slammer? Back in June, we noted that USA network reality series Chrisley Knows Best would continue to air even after the couple’s conviction this summer on multiple counts of tax evasion. From a DoJ press release about the conviction at the time:
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Before Todd and Julie Chrisley became reality television stars, they conspired to defraud community banks in the Atlanta area to obtain more than $30 million in personal loans. The Chrisleys, with the help of their former business partner, submitted false bank statements, audit reports, and personal financial statements to banks to obtain the millions of dollars in fraudulent loans. The Chrisleys then spent the money on luxury cars, designer clothes, real estate, and travel—and used new fraudulent loans to pay back old ones. After spending all the money, Todd Chrisley filed for bankruptcy and walked away from more than $20 million of the fraudulently obtained loans.
The evidence further showed that in 2014, while Todd Chrisley was in bankruptcy proceedings, Julie Chrisley again manufactured financial documents and lied to real estate agents to obtain a luxury rental house in Los Angeles, California. As soon as the Chrisleys began renting the house, they failed to pay rent, and the homeowner filed an eviction lawsuit.
Around the time that Todd Chrisley filed for bankruptcy, the Chrisleys became the stars of their own reality show, which was recorded in Atlanta and later in Nashville. The evidence at trial showed that while they were earning millions from their TV show, Todd and Julie Chrisley, along with their accountant, Peter Tarantino, conspired to defraud the Internal Revenue Service.
That’s just a taste of the claims federal prosecutors made against the TV stars, and a jury in Atlanta declared them guilty on each and every one, years after their initial indictment in August 2019.
Even after the charges, show producers continued to follow Todd and Julie Chrisley, as well as their kids, even renewing the show while they were in the midst of their trial. In fact, E! even announced a new show, called Love Limo, that Todd was set to host, shortly before the jury announced its verdict.
But Love Limo isn’t happening, as Todd and Julie Chrisley were sentenced on Monday, and it’s not just a slap on the wrist.
“When you lie, cheat and steal, justice is blind as to your fame, your fortune, and your position,” the head of the FBI Atlanta said in that previously noted press release from when the conviction was handed down. That quote got recycled by the DoJ Monday in a release headlined “Television personalities sentenced to years in federal prison for fraud and tax evasion.” The sentences:
Todd Chrisley, 54, of Brentwood, Tennessee, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.
Julie Chrisley, 49, of Brentwood, Tennessee, has been sentenced to seven years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.
U.S. District Judge Eleanor L. Ross also ordered the couple to pay restitution, “and will determine the exact amount at a later date.”
The show will go on, for now, as per CNN “new episodes, filmed prior to the trial [but well after the indictment, as I noted! — EB], will debut sometime next year.”
“I’m just over here angry, because it’s like, how is a God that’s supposed to be so loving and so full of hope [OK with this]?” asked Todd and Julie’s daughter Savannah last month during her podcast, which is called Unlocked with Savannah Chrisley. “This life is so cruel and we’re all doing the best we can,” she also posted on Instagram. “I will continue to stand by my family and fight for justice. Justice for ourselves and for others that the system has failed. (There is only so much I can comment on legally at this moment.)”
She’s the star of Growing Up Chrisley — or rather, she was. According to Deadline, all Chrisley-related shows have been canceled:
While there’s no official word from NBCUniversal, Deadline understands that Chrisley Knows Best, which has run for nine seasons, essentially followed real estate “tycoon” Todd Chrisley, wife Julie and family, has been canceled, as has spin-off Growing Up Chrisley, which followed kids Chase and Savannah as they embrace adulthood away from Todd and Julie.
Chrisley Knows Best was renewed for a tenth season a month before the convictions and USA Network will air a handful of episodes, filmed before the trial, from this season next year.
Growing Up Chrisley moved to E! for its fourth season, which ended its run in October, after three seasons on USA Network.
E! had also ordered a dating format Love Limo, that was set to be hosted by Todd Chrisley with a group of singletons putting their dating life into his hands, but that has also been scrapped.
A question, I guess, is if there’s enough here for a documentary feature or series on the rise and fall of the Chrisleys. I never watched their show (Todd just seemed so odious, so gross that I didn’t even feel ready to love to hate him), but I might be convinced to watch something like that, especially if it went full inside baseball on why NBCUniversal kept moving forward with the family even after they knew the long arm of the law had them in their grasp. How about you, would you watch something like that? — EB
I had to do some checking to make sure this was real. And it appears to be: on Celebrity Jeopardy! last Sunday, guests John Michael Higgins, Wil Wheaton, and Joel Kim Booster were asked the above question involving credibly accused murderer/dead-by-suicide man Brian Laundrie, who officials say confessed to the slaying of girlfriend Gabby Petito in a note left at his death site.
As far as I can tell, Jeopardy! has remained silent about the question, but users of social media have not, which is a major no duh: Per CBS, Twitter users are enraged, with many blaming host Mayim Bialik, who presumably just read the question and did not write it. (She, too, has not commented on the controversy.)
Others, of course, are taking the time to announce that people are wasting their time by expressing offense, dancing right on the edge of “woke mob”/snowflake allegations.
Via their attorney, Laundrie’s family has also expressed their dismay. Via CBS:
Steven Bertolino, an attorney for the Laundrie family, told CBS News the family was "appalled" by the clue.
"The entire Laundrie family is appalled and concurs with all of the comments on social media on how distasteful this was." he said. "I believe an apology is due."
"For this distasteful Jeopardy question to be posed only highlights the sensationalism that surrounded this tragedy and puts salt on the wounds of a family that has not been afforded any rights or privacy when the family themselves did nothing wrong," Bertolino added.
At the risk of sounding insensitive — or like someone who has not watched Jeopardy! for a very long time (which I am) — isn’t this question just sort of crappy as a question, subject matter aside? The category was denoted as necessitating answers that begin with “A,” so it seems like we could have gotten there with “This long and toothy creature roams the Florida swampland.” Has the show’s mandate changed to make it packed with questions that distract from the true answer, a la As I was going to St Ives? It just seems poorly written and stupid, as a question, doesn’t it?
A few days after that Jeopardy! episode aired, the Laundries were in the news again. Petito's family had filed suit against Brian Laundrie’s estate this summer, but last week, a Sarasota County, Florida judge approved a pre-trial settlement of $3 million to the Petitos, money they are unlikely to receive. According to Petito’s parents’ attorney Patrick Reilly, who spoke with CNN, “Brian did not have $3 million; it’s an arbitrary number.”
Some headlines, however, seem to be conflating this decision with a different suit the Petito family filed against the Laundries, which is still moving forward. As CNN noted in April, Petito’s parents said in a court filing that “the Laundrie family went on vacation ‘knowing that Brian Laundrie had murdered Gabrielle Petito, it is believed that they knew where her body was located, and further knew that Gabrielle Petito’s parents were attempting to locate her.’”
As relates to that matter, Bertolino (of the Jeopardy! statement) said that Petito’s parents’ claims “do not give rise to liability under the law. Thus, we are still confident the Court will dismiss the action.” The court filings don’t specify a figure Petito’s parents are asking, and says only that they seek in excess of $30,000. — EB
Musicians — and their estates — are making legal threats against politicians that use songs without permission. I’ve always enjoyed stories of lawsuits from bands against politicians who use their musical works without getting clearance, especially when there’s a political divide between the two. And I’ve always wondered why campaign managers don’t just get permission and/or work with acts that are politically aligned with their candidates. Is it worth the negotiations afterwards to ask for forgiveness instead of a blessing?
The latest are both against GOP candidates, likely no surprise when you consider how repugnant the party has become. And both musicians have left us — but their estates are vigorously defending their memories (and, I suspect, their IP).
As you likely know, multiple election denier Lake continues to refuse to back down, saying “I am busy here collecting evidence and data. Rest assured, I have assembled the best and brightest legal team, and we are exploring every avenue to correct the many wrongs that have been done this past week. I'm doing everything in my power to right these wrongs.” A battle between Petty’s estate and Lake would be pretty engrossing, so I kind of hope she considers a quiet settlement a concession so we can watch them in court.
And then there’s this one:
Given the crack team that’s worked with the former president throughout his political career, I am shocked at this unlicensed action at arguably his most notable action since leaving office. Hayes died in 2008, so he didn’t have to witness this mess — but his estate seems committed to the fight.
Per BET, the former president’s campaign “has continuously played songs against musicians' wishes including the Village People’s ‘Y.M.C.A,’ Laura Branigan’s ‘Gloria,’ as well several songs from artists including Rihanna, Prince, Adele, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John and more.” I had forgotten about the “YMCA” matter which perplexed me the most (he…knows what it’s about, right?), but if anyone out there wants to do an inside baseball podcast on if/how musicians sue over this very specific type of infringement, I am ALL EARS. — EB
Tomorrow on Best Evidence: As noted above, a discussion, then we feast.
What is this thing? This should help. Follow Best Evidence @bestevidencefyi on Twitter and Instagram. You can also call or text us any time at 919-75-CRIME.