Gypsy Rose Blanchard‘s image has been outside of her control for much of her life, whether from her mother presenting her as a sick child or the array of productions and publications that have chronicled her story over the years.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard is seen next to a car as she exits prison on Dec. 28, 2023. (Photo: Daniel William McKnight)
But since her release from prison on Dec. 28, Gypsy is finding her own footing in the public’s eye for the first time with a social media presence.
A smiling mirror photo marked the 32-year-old’s first personal foray onto Instagram the day after her release. Including the caption, “First selfie of freedom!,” the picture has amassed more than 6.2 million likes in three days.
Then Gypsy’s first time speaking out since her release came by way of social media on Sunday, garnering 20.5 million views on Instagram and 17.2 million on TikTok.
RELATED: Gypsy Rose Blanchard Announces New Book
“I’m finally free,” she said in the joint post. “I just wanted to send a quick video to thank everyone for the massive amount of support that I’ve been getting on social media. Everyone has been really, really nice and supportive, and I really appreciate that.”
Viewers were quick to note the 32-year-old was wearing a New Orleans Saints jersey as she told fans she was back in Louisiana “enjoying a beautiful day outside.” She also told viewers to watch out for “a lot of great things” coming up, like her Lifetime docuseries “The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard” premiering Jan. 5 and her e-book “Released: Conversations on the Eve of Freedom” which is available for pre-order.
“It’s not a rehashing of everything that happened; it’s more of my reflection of everything that I’ve learned and experienced in the last 8.5 years,” she said.
And while the general public might feel fed up with social media personalities promoting their work, Gypsy’s comment section doesn’t seem to mind, with tens of thousands of followers sharing compliments or words of encouragement on each of her posts.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard is seen getting into a car as she exits prison on Dec. 28, 2023. (Photo: Daniel William McKnight)
It’s a similar but much different story than that of the Gypsy Rose Blanchard of 8.5 years ago. Then, Gypsy’s mother, Dee Dee Blanchard, would have probably been running her daughter’s social media feeds to a couple hundred or thousand loving followers, but the photos would most likely not have featured an independent girl with long hair.
Instead, they would likely have featured who Dee Dee had been presenting Gypsy as: a sick child with a shaved head who was confined to a wheelchair.
READ MORE: Gypsy Rose Blanchard, convicted of killing mother, to be released
Gypsy had believed this story for much of her life, but upon realizing her abilities, she began to fight back against her mom, ultimately helping plan her murder in June 2015.
Gypsy and her then-boyfriend were charged with first-degree murder after Dee Dee was found stabbed to death, but authorities later lessened Gypsy’s charges after learning of the decades of her mother’s abuse.
Gypsy secured a second-degree murder plea deal and was sentenced to 10 years in jail, but she was released two years early in December.
Now beyond using her social media platforms to share life and post-prison “firsts,” Gypsy appears to be using her accounts just like anyone else, as photos with her husband, selfies, Instagram filters and more start to make appearances.
This story was originally published by Scripps News, an E.W. Scripps Company.
