Just when you thought things couldn't get any more twisty in the narrative of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, something new comes out that reveals there's even more to the story than Hulu's drama The Act has to offer. In a recent interview with Vulture, Gypsy Rose's stepmom Kristy Blanchard revealed her thoughts on The Act. It turns out Blanchard isn't big fan of the show, and in fact, she has her own idea for a series that would dig deeper into what she claims are facts about Gypsy's mother Dee Dee Blanchard's background.
In a nutshell, it seems that Blanchard has a major bone to pick with the showrunners for The Act, which showcases the victimization of Gypsy Rose. For years, Gypsy was subjected to decades of unnecessary tests and surgeries for a myriad of chronic illnesses allegedly enforced upon her by her mother, who is believed to have suffered from Munchausen syndrome by proxy. After nearly two decades of abuse, Gypsy and her secret online boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, allegedly conspired to kill her mother, Dee Dee. According to multiple reports, Godejohn fatally stabbed Dee Dee in June of 2015. He was subsequently sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in February 2019, according to PopSugar. The outlet additionally noted that Gypsy is currently serving a sentence of 10 years in prison for second-degree murder with eligibility for parole in 2024.
Much of this story is being covered on the Hulu show. However, Blanchard claimed that The Act is far from accurate. "If they’re gonna do a show, the whole truth needs to be out there," Blanchard told Vulture. "It goes so much further than Dee Dee and Gypsy. It goes back to the way Dee Dee was raised and stuff like that."
Prior to The Act's release, Blanchard, who appeared in HBO's documentary about Gypsy's story, Mommy Dead and Dearest, alongside her husband and Gypsy's father Rod Blanchard, had been collaborating with an online marketing coach and screenwriter named Franchesca Macelli for a series based on Gypsy's life titled By Proxy.
Despite her husband's lack of close involvement in Gypsy's upbringing (noted by Vulture), Blanchard and her screenwriting partner feel most qualified to give Gypsy's story full treatment. Since Macelli has reportedly had life rights signed by Gypsy, Rod, and Blanchard since June 2017, it seems that there are still lots of pieces to this puzzle that have gone untold. She added,
"We have agreed to tell the good, the bad, the ugly, everything. We are not going to fabricate anything, and if Gypsy’s truth can help save a life, then it’s worth it, and she wants the truth out there. She wants her truth. We want it to be how it affected us, how it affected the Godejohn family [the family of Gypsy's former boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn], how it affected the Petris family [Gypsy’s relatives on Dee Dee’s side], when all of this came out."
As for why the Blanchards didn't take part in Hulu's series: Gypsy's stepmother and Macelli claimed that The Act’s producers left them out of any involvement in their series, after promising to allow them to participate. In fact, Blanchard claimed that creators of The Act, which was adapted from BuzzFeed piece by Michelle Dean, had every opportunity to speak to them, but decided to move on without input or permission from Gypsy and her family.
Around the same time The Act first premiered on Hulu, Gypsy herself shared a statement with Bustle, calling The Act "very unfair" to her story. When reached by email, she revealed plans to take legal action against the show's creator for using her name and story without consent.
All things considered, there seems to be many sides to this story and, with so many retellings, it's hard to get to the bottom of all of the intricate details that make a whole, accurate representation of Gypsy's story. Maybe one day she'll be able to share it for herself.
