"The Act'" showcases the events leading up to the mother of Gypsy Rose Blanchard being killed in her own home and why that occurred.
After hearing about this case, it's impossible not to research it. It's one of the most complex cases in history.
Almost four years ago on June 14, 2015, police found the body of Dee Dee Blanchard, Gypsy's mother, face down and dead in her bed with stab wounds from a few days prior. What led to these events are vigorous.
Gypsy Rose and Dee Dee had a relationship like no other mother and daughter. They were inseparable because they only had each other, but also because Gypsy was sick in various ways. Dee Dee had told each new doctor that they came across and the public that her daughter was suffering from things such as leukemia, sleeping issues, muscular dystrophy, visual impairments, and that she needed a wheelchair and feeding tube. Besides one visual impairment, all of this was a lie and it started when Gypsy was a baby.
Gypsy had none of these things, so taking the unnecessary medications caused her teeth to rot out and to have surgeries that were unnecessary.
Gypsy knew that she did not need the feeding tube and that she could walk, but she kept going along with what her mother said. Since her mother shaved her head to make it seem as though she had leukemia so Gypsy did believe that she had cancer.
Through all of this lying, the Blanchard girls had to move around often. Dee Dee claimed that they were victims of Hurricane Katrina so they were built a house in Missouri from Habitat for Humanity. They also got an extreme amount of money from charity, all of which was not needed.
The two secluded themselves from creating real relationships and friendships as per Dee Dee's orders. She tried to make Gypsy believe that everything she was doing was to protect her.
Why did this all happen?
Dee Dee Blanchard had a mental disorder called Munchausen syndrome by proxy. This means that the caregiver makes up illnesses or causes them. This may happen in people who have had issues in their own childhood and feel that their life is not in their control. Since the victims of the caregivers with MSBP are usually children or the elderly, it is considered to be a form of abuse. This can be emotional, psychological, and medical abuse on the victim.
Not only did Dee Dee lie about Gypsy's illnesses to everyone, but also her age. She was told by her mother that she was born in 1995, but was really born in 1991. This was done so that she could continue being a child under her mother's care. This had the biggest effect on Gypsy because she kept wanting to do things like wear makeup and become a woman. She and her friend Aleah would often talk about boys.
Gypsy started to rebel against her mother and created an account on the dating website called ChristianMingles.com. This is where she met the man who killed her mother. Nick Godejohn and Gypsy had a romantic relationship. The two were in a fantasy world of their own. Godejohn has multiple personality disorder and has a dangerous alternate personality. After finding this out, Gypsy believed that the only way to be free of her mother was by having her killed. Godejohn killed Dee Dee by stabbing her multiple times.
So now that you have heard the story, what do you think: victim or villain?
