by JEANIE CHUA
Gypsy Rose Blanchard, best known as the young girl who was subjected to unnecessary medical procedures and psychological abuse at the hands of her mother, was released Dec. 28 from a Missouri prison, where she resided for the last eight years after being found guilty of second-degree murder for killing her mother.
Blanchard was convicted of the crime in 2016, for conspiring with her boyfriend at the time, Nicholas Godejohn, to murder her mother, which led to her sentence of 10 years in prison.
Due to good behavior, however, Blanchard was granted an early release.
On my TikTok “For You” page leading up Blanchard’s release, there was a resurgence of the 2019 Hulu drama series, The Act.
This drama series retells the story of Gypsy Rose, played by Joey King, in eight episodes.
It had me scrolling through their pages and even watching a full episode of the show.
In addition, I saw many people editing clips of her from trial appearances or interviews, and overlaying an audio mostly used for edits. If anything, I was honestly impressed with the editing. Overall, people had been digging up things from Blanchard’s past.
I admit that I found myself invested in Blanchard’s release, along with all these other people online.
I even liked a few of the edits myself, and thought that they were even iconic, hopping on the Gypsy Rose bandwagon.
As her release date approached, I encountered many TikToks of people counting down, almost like it was the New Year. I found it funny, coming across TikToks that were along the lines of, “Five more hours till Gypsy is released!”
Then came Dec. 28. Tabloids such as TMZ and the Daily Mail had already spread photos and videos of Blanchard shoe-shopping at Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse in Kansas City with a man.
People on the internet quickly jumped at the opportunity to use these clips for new edits.
My initial reaction to the numerous edits that came out so quickly was shock at the speed of attention that came just from her buying shoes. The second was wondering who the guy was next to her.
The man she was pictured with is Ryan Anderson, her partner. They had apparently met while Blanchard was still in prison through a letter.
They continued to exchange letters and emails until eventually obtaining a marriage license in June 2022. They aren’t officially married despite calling each other husband and wife on the internet.
As Blanchard’s popularity grew, many journalists, reporters and influencers gained an interest in her, particularly in getting Blanchard on their platform.
I wasn’t really interested in the attention she was receiving, but there was one video that caught my eye.
Amanda Hirsch, a podcaster, made a TikTok with Blanchard, calling her the “celeb of the moment” and encouranging her to send a message out to the haters. The video received seven million views.
I found it funny when they referred to a tweet Blanchard had sent.
In the video with Hirsch, she says, “Can’t bring me down. Living on a high right now. I’m living my best life and y’all can’t take that from me.”
Blanchard has been more active lately on social media, and posting her new experiences out of prison. I like her videos whenever they come up; I’m happy for her.
I also found out that Blanchard has reconnected with her family, who are supporting throughout the process of integrating back into society despite being separated from her father at a young age.
I was really glad she had a support system to rely on.
At first, I thought all the attention was funny and iconic. As I scrolled, I would see an innocent post about an interview and laugh when jokes or comments were made.
After listening to the interviews made by podcasters, however, I felt like there were ill intentions behind the interviews.
My opinion then shifted to one where people should just leave her alone and go on with their lives.
I believe that bringing attention to her case, despite the special circumstances, can be problematic.
Glorifying these cases can lead to other criminals who have taken the lives of others to be idolized publically.
I’ve seen this done before with Ted Bundy, and I worry that this can lead to normalizing such behavior … although it might seem harmless now.
I also think it is important to acknowledge the privilege that Blanchard has enjoyed.
I hope that people can show the same support for—and bring awareness to—others in jail, especially marginalized groups that may have similar cases to hers.
I’m happy for Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s happiness, but I believe she should be left alone to find her peace during this time of reacclimating to life outside of the prison walls.
The Mainsheet 