For twenty-four years of her life Gypsy Rose Blanchard appeared incredibly ill, using both a feeding tube and a wheelchair. In reality her various diagnoses including leukemia, muscular dystrophy, and seizures were all in her mother Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard’s head–a byproduct of her Munchausens by proxy. For years she lied to Gypsy Rose about her health and age, all the while continuing to profit off of her sob story.
In 2015, after decades of medical abuse, Blanchard killed her mother with the help of her online boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn. Six days later they were arrested. Because of the unusual nature of the case she was only sentenced to ten years in prison for second-degree murder, while Godejohn received a life sentence for murder in the first degree.
December 28th, the end of 2023, Gypsy Rose Blanchard was discharged early from prison. Leading up to her release she received a massive cult following on social media. Hordes of users, mainly Gen Z, started posting in her support. A lot of the posts were on the verge of being inappropriate, with some calling her things like “mother” or “queen”. TikTok user @dannyboyy_ posted a video outside of a prison, possibly hers, holding a sign saying “WELCOME HOME GYPSY ROSE”. That video has amassed 4.5 million likes and 31.5 million views.
Gypsy Rose needs to be left alone. She needs to figure out who she is and how she fits into society, without any outside influence / media attention. She’s always lived a secluded life; she didn’t have a conventional childhood or adolescence because of her “medical issues”, and then was imprisoned for eight years. This is the first chance Blanchard has at being a “normal” human being, her first chance at knowing who she is.
But now because of our generation’s obsession with her she’s reached the level of fame where she’s being hounded by paparazzi. A recent TMZ article “Gypsy Rose Goes Shoe Shopping…” revealed photos of her buying shoes with her husband, making light of the fact that she didn’t seem to own any prior to the trip. She should be able to shop for basic necessities without having cameras breathing down her neck.
I worry that this constant media attention will force Blanchard into acting in a disingenuous way, making a persona for herself. This should be a time of self-discovery for her, perhaps a time for healing. Not a time to post on social media about every detail of her new life. There’s a time and place for privacy–now is that time.
It’s almost as though she doesn’t understand she can have privacy, that some things can be kept from strangers. Even before her court case she’s been in the public eye; she became a small time celebrity for her “medical conditions” in 2005 or 2008 depending on the source, when she started receiving support from various organizations like Make A Wish.
Even in the photos from TMZ there’s a separate camera crew following her for another docu-series. She’s agreed to so many interviews I doubt there’s a part of her life that hasn’t been shared with a camera. Blanchard has stated she has no interest in being famous, but her actions say otherwise. Maybe she secretly wants to be an influencer, but it’s more likely that she feels obligated to share things about herself.
I don’t want to see Gypsy Rose Blanchard for the next five years. If she comes back after that–great! She needs to develop her own private life, and having us hanging on to her every word is detrimental to that goal.
