If you haven’t heard, everyone’s favorite inmate, Gypsy Rose Blanchard, has been recently released from Chillicothe Correctional Center. After making parole, Blanchard was released three years early on Dec. 28, 2023.

After pleading guilty to the murder of her abusive mother, Blanchard was sentenced to 10 years in prison. This was a plea deal brought up by her attorney because of the abuse she experienced.

Blanchard’s story was first popularized in Hulu’s production of “The Act,” where she’s played by Joey King. After this, a true-crime subculture of young teens latched onto her story.

Following her sentencing, while in prison, Blanchard’s cellmate sought to help her tell her own story through TikTok. She relayed Blanchard’s responses to questions sent by thousands of fans through TikTok comments.

Once Blanchard became more popularized, this fanbase adopted her as a sort of social media influencer. What I’d like to make clear to the general public is that Gypsy Rose Blanchard is not your role model.

As it got closer to Blanchard’s release date, I was surprised to see posts counting down the days with sparkles, confetti and reverb edits. People were excited.

The dark humor of Gen Z took Blanchard’s story even further. Teens were celebrating “Gypsy Rose Release Day” by baking cakes, throwing parties, and attempting to get their exes back by hitting them with a “Happy Gypsy Rose Release Day!” text message.

While I understand the controversy over her mother’s death, let’s not forget that Blanchard did convince her weirdo ex-boyfriend to commit murder. Whether it was deserved or not, the psychological trauma and abuse she experienced that led to that decision should be enough for everyone to understand that something is definitely not right with her now.

Blanchard has not had time to adjust to the real world and this kind of attention can not be beneficial to her return. Teens are romanticizing the story of a woman who was manipulated, lied to, and abused by her mother to the point where she felt like there was no other option but to murder her.

All this woman knows other than her mother’s abuse is the life of a prisoner and it shows. During her sentence, she met and married her husband Ryan Anderson. After watching a documentary about Blanchard’s life, Anderson decided to reach out to her through email, after that it was history.

The fact that Anderson started pursuing Blanchard after watching one of her documentaries sets off alarms. Additionally, they got engaged after only four months which is crazy considering that Blanchard has never even lived on her own before.

Teen’s investment in Blanchard’s story stems from one big joke and has gone on because of her continuous interaction with the media. They make light of her situation and she’s uplifted by it which is a positive note, but Blanchard needs to be left in peace and kids should stop glamorizing her life. Personally, I’ve always found her a little unsettling.