If you do not already know what "The Act" is or who Gypsy Rose Blanchard is, get ready to do some Google deep diving after reading this article. The Act is a Hulu Original show based on the tragic events that led to the murder of Dee Dee Blanchard and the imprisonment of her daughter, Gypsy Rose.

On June 14th, 2015, Dee Dee Blanchard was found murdered in her home in Missouri. There was no sign of her daughter, Gypsy Rose who Dee Dee claimed suffered from leukemia, asthma, muscular dystrophy, several other chronic conditions, and had "the mental capacity of a 7-year-old" due to brain damage from premature birth. Because of this, Gypsy had to use a wheelchair, so the disappearance caused panic among friends, neighbors, and family.

Gypsy Rose and Dee Dee Blanchard (left) Joey King and Patricia Arquette (right) EOnline Magazine

The next day, the police found Gypsy with a secret boyfriend that she had met online. His name was Nicholas Godejohn. It turned out that the illnesses with Gypsy were completely fabricated by her mother. She was a normal adult who was perfectly healthy and could walk.

Dee Dee had Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a mental disorder where "a parent or other caretaker exaggerates, fabricates, or induces illness in a person under their care to obtain sympathy or attention". For years, Dee Dee had forced Gypsy to pretend to be sick so that they could gain financial benefits and sympathy from everyone around them.

Dee Dee had been making her daughter pass herself off as younger and pretend to be disabled and chronically ill, subjecting her to unnecessary surgery and medication, and controlling her through psychological and psychical abuse. It turned out that Nicholas had murdered Dee Dee along with Gypsy's help since she felt trapped in her abusive situation. Gypsy pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to ten years in prison. Nicholas was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

With all of the media sensation and plot twists, this case is extremely popular. There have been so many documentaries about the story, and Hulu is currently running a show called The Act. The Act is the dramatized events leading up to Dee Dee's murder. I personally love the show and find it extremely interesting because of my love for true crime.

Gypsy Rose, now Fox News

But, I ask myself, is it right for Hulu to be airing this show while Gypsy and Nicholas sit in jail? There is a lot of controversy over whether or not she is guilty, and I know now that there is a petition to shorten her sentence. Gypsy is a victim of abuse, and it is so infuriating that the doctor's who took care of her did not do something when they saw warning signs.

Doctors suspected that her mother was lying, but no one had the courage to speak up about it. The people in her life should have helped her. It is so disheartening to know that she acted out of desperation and had to resort to murdering her own mother.

This case should be used for awareness purposes to look for warning signs of someone suffering from abuse. Abuse can come in many forms; emotional, mental, and physical.

Sometimes the only way that victims and survivors of abuse can get the help they need is when people speak up and point out that something is wrong. I know that most people are uncomfortable, but I always think it is better to be safe than sorry. Saying something if you think you see signs of abuse is important because it can prevent a tragedy from occurring.

National Domestic Abuse Hotline : 1-800-799-SAFE

National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-422-4453