Photo courtesy of Gypsy-Rose Blanchard | Blanchard’s first Instagram post after her release.
Caroline Bryant
The Southern Editor
After the release of the 2019 Hulu mini-series, The Act, Americans have anxiously awaited the release of Gypsy Rose Blanchard from prison.
Serving seven years for the second-degree murder of Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard, much of the public excused Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s actions as self-defense. Her mother, who had Munchausen syndrome by proxy, falsified several of her daughter’s medical diagnoses for attention.
With the public eye on her for her entire life, one would expect G. Blanchard to seek privacy once she returned home. What happened was the exact opposite.
The moment she was released from prison, she went straight to social media. On Dec. 29, she posted on Instagram with the caption “First selfie of freedom!” to her eight million followers. Since then, she’s been promoting her TikTok and Snapchat, and has appeared on multiple podcasts and YouTube confessionals.
While the excitement and the media attention from news outlets is understandable, it feels off-putting seeing entertainment sources treat her as an influencer, playing whiteboard games on Lifetime.
Generation Z adored her as a celebrity, as well. Since her release, thousands of edits of Blanchard have taken over the TikTok For You Page. Additionally, a video clip of Blanchard saying “Can’t bring me down, I’m on a high right now. I’m living my best life and y’all can’t take that away from me,” has become a popular sound on TikTok.
Yet, attitudes quickly shifted. Seeing Blanchard on every social media platform became tiring quickly. Many feared for her mental well-being from her quick jump onto social media and her decision to immediately start her press tour. Others thought it was a part of her grand scheme as a master manipulator. After all, on The Viall Files podcast, she claimed not to be a murderer.
Different perspectives emerged when Amanda Bynes debuted her TikTok account this past December after being placed on psychiatric hold that year. The 2000s star who fell victim to drug abuse is used to the constant comments about her changed look: bleach blonde hair, blue eyebrows and a heart face tattoo.
But in her first TikTok thanking the public for listening to her new podcast with Paul Sieminski, almost all of the comments were positive. Many expressed their excitement seeing her again, wishing her good health and praising her past career.
Bynes waited months and went to rehab before returning to social media. While TMZ stated that Blanchard went to group therapy and she said she attended self-improvement courses, those were still classes taken in prison. It is likely she still needs therapy post-prison.
Other attitudes towards Blanchard were just mean. Of course, she’s constantly posting and using what Gen-Z might consider “cringey” filters. She’s missed seven years of social media. It’s going to take her a while to catch up on all of the trends.
So instead of worrying about her Millennial pause, just let Blanchard do her thing. While her influencer status seems a bit rushed, the media doesn’t know her life. Maybe she’s doing all of this as a coping mechanism to distract herself from her trauma. Whatever her reason is, let’s just sit back and watch the show.
