Julie Chrisley is addressing racist comments directed at her 8-year-old granddaughter, Chloe, who is biracial.
“People will write things like, ‘She doesn’t fit into your family,’ and it hurts my heart,” the “Chrisley Knows Best” matriarch told TODAY Parents. “If it’s something stupid about me, I don’t care. I don’t have time for that. But if you attack Chloe, I’m gonna call you out. Your co-workers and the families sitting beside you in church every week should know what kind of person you are.”
The Nashville, Tennessee, TV personality and her husband, Todd Chrisley, 51, have been raising Chloe since she was an infant due to their son Kyle’s struggles with substance abuse. Chloe does not have a relationship with her biological mother, Julie said.
Though Chloe is not aware of what is happening on social media, the second grader has experienced prejudice firsthand.
“She came home and I knew something was wrong. All of a sudden, tears started streaming down her face,” Julie recalled. “She looked at me and said, ‘Mama, I don’t know why God made me this way.’”
When Julie pressed for more, Chloe recounted being left out of a game because of her skin color.
“She said, ‘My friends wouldn’t let me play unicorn with them because unicorns are white and I’m Black,’” Julie revealed. “And I said, ‘Honey, let me tell you something. God made you exactly the way you are supposed to be. You are 100% perfect. There is no one else like you and you can be anything you want to be. You can be the most beautiful unicorn.’”
Last summer, Todd Chrisley shut down an Instagram troll who made a racist comment on an adorable photo of himself and Chloe.
“I’m sorry I don’t like it marry your own color it really screws up the kids,” the person wrote.
“I hope that the Lord lets you live long enough to see that color doesn’t screw kids up, but ignorance and hate most certainly will,” Todd replied. “I will pray that God tempers your heart and that he grants you clarity.”
The couple said they will never stop speaking up for their blended family. (Julie and Todd share children Chase, 24, Savannah, 23, and Grayson, 14. Todd is also dad to Kyle, 29, and Lindsie, 31, from a previous marriage.)
“If you come for one of ours — if you come for one of the Chrisleys — be prepared for every person to know who you truly are,” Julie told TODAY. “We are always going to stand up for our own.”
"Chrisley Knows Best" streams on Peacock and airs Thursdays on the USA Network.
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