On June 15th of 2015, Gypsy Rose Blanchard was arrested with her boyfriend at the time, Nicholas Godejohn, for the conspiracy and murder of Blanchard’s mother, Clauddine, “Dee Dee ” Blanchard. Since the arrest, details of Gypsy’s childhood abuse came to surface from her mother’s diagnosis of MSP, Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy. MSP is an illness where the caretaker of a child will make up or cause symptoms to make a child sick. Gypsy endured this for years before she decided her only way out was through killing her mother. Despite how gruesome and tragic this story is, Blanchard’s recent release has prompted people to jump to her defense and make her an overnight celebrity. As a convicted felon, Blanchard is now on a press tour, complete with a glam team, as she tours red carpets after signing her Lifetime contract. This brings up the question of if this is appropriate considering what her life was like and what she was convicted of.
LFA junior Xitlali Ocote-Arellano shares her experience following Blanchards story. She explains how similar to most people on social media she found out about Blanchard’s story through tik tok and the reenactment of her story on Hulu called “The Act ”. Octoe-Arellano shares, “I think that her situation must’ve been very traumatic for her. As an outsider, it was very interesting to see the backstory and the effects her mothers actions had on her, her relationships and the mother herself.” In other words, Blanchard’s story affected many populations mentally and emotionally. However, similar to all social media platforms, tiktok and influencers have done a remarkable job sharing her story and spreading awareness on Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy.
Unfortunately, this means that Blanchard is trending on several platforms and has gained a significant following since her release date. The fan base accumulated as a result of basic interest and humor. This leads many people to believe her press tour is mainly for fame rather than justice. Octoe-Arellano believes otherwise, “ I think her tour is a result of wanting justice for what happened to her but the fame comes with it.” Despite that, there is still speculation across social media that Blanchard’s justice, and in turn fame, is just a trend that will eventually die out. Not only that, but many people have discussed not thinking she is as good of a person as people were thinking she’d be, referencing her impromptu instagram comments. For these reasons, it will be interesting to see how Blanchard’s life pans out between whether her new found success is her form of justice, or whether it will slowly die out as people move on with the trends.
