Gypsy Rose should not be considered an influencer.

The internet has a new unexpected star with a dark past: Gypsy Rose Blanchard. 

After serving eight years in prison for the convicted murder of her mother, Blanchard was just released last month. She pleaded guilty to the murder in 2016, after she conspired with her online boyfriend to fatally stab her mother. Just one day after her release, a selfie she posted to Instagram garnered more than six million likes. Her online presence continues to grow with almost 10 million followers on TikTok and 8.3 million followers on Instagram. However, her rise to fame raises a question: Does the convicted murderer really deserve the large, fast-growing platform she has?

After the trauma that Blanchard has endured, the Internet is the last thing she should be exposed to. It is all too familiar– the cycle of internet fame, where someone gains a large following online, only to be “cancelled” shortly after for not performing in the way that their audience expects them to. Blanchard has been performing an act her whole life under her manipulative and abusive mother, and she is now forced to perform and please an even larger audience. 

“I feel like [Gypsy] should slow down on the internet, considering everything she’s been through already. She’s become an influencer too quickly,” expresses sophomore Madison Jules.

It’s important to acknowledge that at the end of the day, Gypsy is just a person that carries extreme physical, emotional, and mental trauma with her. Bestowing the title of “influencer” upon her in such a short period of time, millions of people watch her through the screen and spew negative commentary about her life. This is neither healthy nor helpful in her emotional recovery. The internet has a long history of giving the wrong people large platforms, but a convicted murderer should definitely not be one of them.

Yes, Gypsy deserves to be recognized as an influencer. 

Stepping out from the doors that surrounded Gypsy’s “home” for 8 years in Missouri’s correctional center, Blanchard is immediately bombarded with cameras and microphones. While some are for her upcoming documentary, The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, others are hidden in the buses or on the street trying to show the world an inside look of her release. In other words, paparazzi are trying to profit off of her and her story. 

As Gypsy adjusts to life as a 32-year-old married woman, it also means that she has to set her story straight before settling down in this new life of hers. While being confined for eight years, there were many stories, movies, and tv shows that circled the internet as it was, at the time, the only source of information on the subject– the subject being the murder of her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard. The Act, a Hulu original, was released in the spring of 2019, which gave the world a play by play on the events that took place– the events being the traumatic events of Dee Dee drugging Gypsy, manipulating her into believing she was younger and sicker than she really was, and completely confining her to one home and one “friend.” However, the question that arises is how do we know this is factual? Well, we don’t know.

With the help of social media and interviews, Gypsy has taken control of her own narrative. Blanchard comments on the show by saying she was never consulted or compensated for the adaptation. “I haven’t had a desire to look at it, I’ve lived it. I think that was for everyone else and not for the person that actually lived it. So, I won’t be watching it.” Gypsy tells E! Interviewer the answer to the burning question of “What does Gypsy think?”. Blanchard continues to use her platform on TikTok and Instagram to shine a light on her upcoming projects, which include the true and pure details of why something so traumatic and devastating occurred. Sophomore Ava Abello goes to explain her stance on the subject and her agreement surrounding the title of “influencer.” “It is clear that there are misconceptions about her story and the events that took place and I personally don’t see anything wrong with Gypsy using her platform to clear it up.” 

While most believe Gypsy is using her platform and sickening story to gain popularity, it is quite the contrary. It is true that she needs a strong and admirable following, but it is only to diminish the lies and false accusations that follow the slight details of the story. After all, how is one supposed to expect anyone to listen as she tells her truth when no one was even interested in listening in the first place? 

It is clear that her use of social media is frowned upon, but it is necessary for her and her improvement as a woman. In order to leave that stage behind her, she must set the lifestyle she once only knew straight. With this, she will be finally making her story hers and breaking from the shackles that society and her mother once had her in.