Gypsy Rose Blanchard spent eight years in prison after pleading guilty to the second-degree murder of her mother.  She was released on parole on December 28, 2023.  The 32-year-old has a story like no other that has captured the attention of the world and quickly brought her to social media stardom.  

Blanchard’s mother had a mental disorder called Munchausen syndrome by proxy.  She feigned and even induced factitious illnesses in her daughter. Blanchard was subjected to a myriad of medications and surgeries, and she was even forced to use a feeding tube and wheelchair even though she didn’t actually need any of those things.  On June 9, 2015, Blanchard arranged for her online boyfriend to murder her mother.  After being trapped, controlled, and abused by her mother for her entire life, she felt that the murder was the only way she could be truly free.

  She has done many interviews and created a documentary series called “The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard” to tell her story. Blanchard has stated that while she is glad she was able to escape the situation, she is not happy her mother is dead and does regret plotting the murder.  Since her release, Blanchard has received an immense amount of support through social media.  “I think that she’s very brave and strong for what she’s been through,” expresses Senior Lynn Castro.  “She definitely deserves a lot better in life which is why I’m glad she got her parole.” Many believe Blanchard’s decision was justified, with some even stating she should have never been imprisoned. Castro thinks that “It wasn’t necessarily ethical but she did what she had to do in that situation.”

Blanchard skyrocketed to fame in just weeks after gaining her freedom.  As of January 18th, she has 8.3 million followers on Instagram.  She intends to use her platform to advocate for fellow victims of Munchausen syndrome by proxy. However, the public has mixed feelings about all the fame.  Sophomore Maria David finds Gypsy Rose to be inspiring because “She immediately made effective her time in prison, when it typically is seen as a place of no hope, by getting educated and getting her GED and everything like that. And then immediately as she’s out, she’s already goal setting by saying that she wants to help other victims of abuse that feel like they have no voice know that they’re not alone and that it always is better to use your voice to stand up for yourself before it gets too far like her.”

After being isolated for so long, Blanchard is still learning how to adjust to today’s society so some feel she should stay away from the cameras.  Junior Mauve Bracamontes shares an interesting perspective.  “Some people’s coping methods are to stay a little more introverted with more alone time to recharge and some people prefer meeting new people and socializing and I think both are healthy. Gypsy has been silenced and isolated her whole childhood so it’d make sense that she’s socializing as much as she can…”  Bracamontes believes Blanchard is using her newfound fame responsibly and is helping to destigmatize prison.  “Yeah, there are lots of messed up people in prison, but there’s a lot of people sent there because the situation is just so bad that people don’t know where to send the people that just need a lot of help after a traumatic situation happened.”

But despite all those who support Blanchard, some are disturbed by the whole situation and feel all the attention she has received contributes to glamorizing murder. When asked about this issue, Castro explains “I can understand what they’re saying but in reality, she’s not getting famous for what she did.  She’s getting famous because of how she overcame it.”