The story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard first caught the nation’s attention in 2016, when she pled guilty to second-degree murder in the case of her mother’s death. Now, released early on parole at the end of 2023, Blanchard finds herself in the spotlight once again.
Growing up, her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard, claimed her daughter suffered from a variety of illnesses, resulting in multiple false diagnoses and unnecessary medical care.
A victim of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, Blanchard and her story were the premise for the 2019 Hulu drama series “The Act.” The show secured an Emmy nomination for Joey King — the actress who played Gypsy Rose Blanchard — and continued public interest in her story.
Currently, with over eight million followers on Instagram and over nine million on TikTok, Blanchard has had several noteworthy moments online and in the media since her release. Her Dec. 29 post captioned “First selfie of freedom!” received over six million likes and a comment she left on one of her husband’s instagram posts — “the D is fire” — received over 400,000 likes. Over the past few weeks, Blanchard has maintained a consistent social media presence while bouncing between interviews, travel and establishing a new life for herself.
Many online have praised and boosted her fame. One content creator, @derryqueenhaha, called Blanchard a gay icon in a TikTok that garnered over 29K likes. Another creator, @gypsyroseblanchard.1 posts fan edits of Blanchard to music that ranges from Nicki Minaj to Lana Del Rey and captions the videos with “Shes running the streets,” “Nobody doing it like her” and “Iconic.”
As funny and lighthearted as the videos might seem, we as consumers and perpetrators of the media cycle must remember the disconnect between what things actually are and what we make them out to be.
Blanchard overcame a lot in her life, and she’s said herself she wants to create a platform to advocate awareness for Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy – she’s not a “gay icon” or “so Lana Del Rey coded.” It’s one thing to support Blanchard, but it’s an entirely other thing to rapidly expose her to media culture — especially when we’ve seen how quick the internet turns on women and without considering how new she is to social media.
The rapid glorification of non-celebrities is no new thing – Alex from Target, the yodeling Walmart kid, Charli D’Amelio, the list could go on and on. Just last December, recently expelled Congressman George Santos skyrocketed in popularity and began making Cameo videos.
He changed his profile to read “Formal congressional ‘Icon’!” The official Cameo TikTok page posted a video compilation of Santos that reached over 275K likes. Comments on the video included, “he was wayyyy too cunty for congress,” from @emilyefournier, and, “I hate that I love him now! like he’s a terrible little rat boy but he slays,” from @blvckkatt.
