How did Gypsy Rose gain so many social media fans?
Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock UpSocial media has an unusual new darling: Gypsy Rose Blanchard.
Since her release from prison for the second-degree murder of her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard, she's amassed almost 10 million followers on TikTok. Fans can't get enough of her story, with Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up season 2 having quickly become the newest viral watch.
However, social media stardom is rarely as rosy as it seems. In March 2024, she deleted her Instagram at just under 8 million followers to protect her privacy. She admitted her rise to fame was threatening her mental health: 'I do not feel free...I feel like I am in a different form of prison'.
In this article, the Crime+Investigation team examines how Gypsy Rose Blanchard turned her incarceration into millions of followers — and why her story, which is ultimately one of murder and revenge, resonated with so many people.
An unlikely rise to fame
While most social media celebrities build their following over several years, Gypsy Rose Blanchard was pretty much guaranteed fame after her release from prison.
In many ways, she was a child star, first entering the zeitgeist in her teens when she received considerable media attention for her slew of illnesses, including muscular dystrophy and leukaemia. There was no reason for doubt — she looked sick, pale and thin with no hair or teeth and a distinctive babyish voice.
However, it would eventually transpire that her mother, Dee Dee, was fabricating Gypsy Rose's illnesses for attention. She would posthumously be diagnosed with Munchausen-by-proxy syndrome (MPS) — a rare mental health disorder where a caregiver, most often a mother, fabricates diseases in their child.
Dee Dee subjected her daughter to dozens of unnecessary and painful medical procedures. But as she entered adulthood, she became increasingly reluctant to indulge her mother's fantasies. In a desperate attempt to escape, she concocted a murderous plan with her then-boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn.
On 10th June 2015, Gypsy Rose gave Godejohn duct tape, gloves and a knife. He then proceeded to stab her mother 17 times in the back while she slept.
An outpouring of sympathy
Gypsy Rose pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. However, many people didn't think she should be punished at all.
As the details of her case surfaced, there was an outpouring of sympathy. How could a mother treat her child so horrendously? Why didn't the doctors notice something was wrong? Gypsy Rose was let down by everyone who was supposed to care for her — of course, people argued, murder seemed like a logical solution.
Vinnie Politan from Court TV elaborated in an interview with Newsweek: 'There was a public outcry in support of Gypsy Rose because many believed our system of justice did not do its job...Many saw her as a victim and wanted to right a wrong...The problem is [social media] can be too much too soon.'
Gypsy Rose Blanchard: TikTok sensation
Gypsy Rose's whirlwind life since her release has been well-documented on her TikTok account. She's met hundreds of influential celebrities, including Kim Kardashian, written a memoir titled My Time to Stand and become a mother herself. She shares all this and more in lifestyle vlogs and chatty GRWMs.
To the outside world, Gypsy Rose is thriving, but she's found it challenging to adjust to her newfound fame: 'Social media is literally a doorway to hell...I thought that once I got out of prison...I'd enjoy social media like the next person, taking selfies and just acting goofy.'
Clearly, not even the media attention she received during her trial and imprisonment could have prepared her for TikTok 'stan' culture, where she's idolised and scrutinised in equal measure.
What’s the future of Gypsy Rose’s social media?
In a twisted turn of events, those who claim to care most about Gypsy Rose are the ones most detrimental to her wellbeing. This realisation prompted her to delete her Instagram in March 2024 at just under 8 million followers.
Politan mused: 'Despite the public thirst for information and to see and hear everything about her, space and time to heal is probably a better choice for everyone who wants to see her flourish.'
Whether you think Gypsy Rose's rise to fame is deserved or indicative of a morally dubious society, she continues to make waves in the social media space. You can learn more about her story right here on Crime+Investigation by watching her groundbreaking documentary Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up.
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