Fox News Flash top entertainment headlines for August 20
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Embattled reality star Todd Chrisley’s daughter, Lindsie, is concerned about her safety after accusing her estranged family of extorting her over an alleged sex tape.
Lindsie accused her dad of trying to extort her over an intimate video allegedly filmed with a star of ABC's "The Bachelorette," Josh Murray. The 29-year-old filed a police report in Georgia claiming that Todd, 50, and her brother, Chase, 23, harassed and threatened her over the tape that Chase allegedly purchased from her.
In the police report, Lindsie, who is estranged from the reality show family, alleges that Chase and Todd threatened to release the footage if she didn't cooperate and lie about an unspecified "incident." Chrisley vehemently denies his estranged daughter’s allegations.
SAVANNAH CHRISLEY SPEAKS OUT AFTER PARENTS ARE INDICTED ON TAX EVASION CHARGES
Sources close to Lindsie told TMZ at the time that the "incident" referred to Todd's alleged tax evasion. However, her attorney has since denied that she had anything to do with that.
TMZ caught up with Lindsie outside her lawyer’s office in Atlanta, where she walked with additional security, saying it was, “for my safety.”
“I just think that any time that something like this goes on within a family and the things that have gone on in the past week that it’s important for me to protect my safety and for my child,” she explained to the outlet.
The gossip site reported that she was traveling with an armed guard, but her lawyer explained to Fox News that the added security was there as a precaution at his request.
“Whenever I have press in my office and there are a large group and people are coming in and out, we have a local police officer at the office,” attorney Musa M. Ghanayem explained.
Ghanayem noted that the high-profile nature of the case --rather than fears that the Chrisley family is seeking any kind of retaliation--is what sparked security concerns.
TODD CHRISLEY, WIFE JULIE PLEAD NOT GUILTY TO TAX-EVASION CHARGES, BOND SET AT $100G EACH
“I think there’s always a concern when people are on social media and you see all the things that they’re writing," he said. "I think you never really know people’s intention. So it’s better to be safe than sorry.”
Todd Chrisley previously denied Lindsie’s allegations against him in a statement to Fox News.
"It’s heartbreaking and shameful that these kinds of accusations have to be aired in public," he said. "We have tried to keep Lindsie’s extramarital relationships with Robby Hayes and Josh Murray private for her sake since August of 2016. Sadly, for reasons we can only guess at, she ran to the sheriff’s office to accuse her brother of buying a sex tape of her and Robby, which was a complete lie, and now she’s telling more lies about me. Although our hearts are broken, Lindsie is our daughter and we will always love her."
Last week, Julie and Todd Chrisley pleaded not guilty to 12 counts of tax evasion and fraud charges and were released on $100,000 bonds.
If convicted of all counts, the reality personalities would face up to 30 years each behind bars.
The family pinned the allegations on a disgruntled former employee whom they accused of stealing from them before his firing.
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Chase Chrisley, meanwhile, was hit with a $16,000 tax lien for allegedly not paying income taxes in 2014. A rep for the family didn't comment on the lien allegations, but a source close to the brood told Fox News, "The Chrisleys’ accountant in New York doesn’t know anything about any [Internal Revenue Service] lien on Chase and says he owes nothing for 2014."
Fox News’ Jessica Sager contributed to this report.
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