Stop Treating Gypsy Rose like an Influencer

Graphics by Anika Dua

By now, everybody who has access to the internet has heard of Gypsy Rose, and if you haven’t, please crawl out from under the rock you’ve been under. 

If you need to be brought up to speed, here’s a quick overview: Gypsy Rose’s mother, Dee Dee, is believed to have had Munchausen syndrome by proxy– a mental disorder that prompted her to fake her daughter’s illnesses in order to have reason to care for someone. Gypsy had been brutally abused her whole life, until she asked her then-boyfriend to come into their home and murder Gypsy’s mother. After carrying out the murder, Gypsy’s boyfriend was sentenced to life in prison, and Gypsy was sentenced to 10 years.

But we're not here to talk about the murder, or whether/not she got the time she deserved, we’re here to talk about the media craze surrounding Gypsy since her release in late December. Gypsy has (strangely) become a sort of “internet celebrity.” After several passionate followers of the case took to social media and idolized her in the wake of her release, it seemed that the public simply wanted to hear her side of the story, how she’s been coping, etc… but it got very weird very quick.

Gypsy Rose has become a social media celeb, making TikToks, Instagram posts, and even going on a “tour” where she went on talk shows like Ellen to discuss her life post-release (EDIT: she now, as of 3.15.25, has multiple documentaries about her, and even her own TV show).

While we feel no one can tell Gypsy – a victim of abuse, and someone who pled guilty to second-degree murder – how to act post-release, it is a little concerning to see people glorifying her story and her decisions. 

People today see her less as a victim or accessory to murder, and more as an influencer.

Which is why we at Jerk think this whole social media situation with Gypsy Rose is fucked. 

This view of Gypsy as an influencer is wrong because it minimizes her story, glorifies murder, and also because many of her followers are waiting for her to “fuck up” the way many of their favorite online influencers have done in the past. Cancel culture is popular, and Gypsy has absolutely no experience with it.

We do, however, want to point out a few things. 

Yes, Gypsy is a victim. But you cannot forget that she was also was also an accessory to murder. She isn’t glamorizing what she went through, and she’s made it very clear that she regrets what she did. It’s her “fans” that are romanticizing her story. Many people blame her for “leaning into” this social media fame, but we have to ask ourselves: what is she supposed to do now? How is one supposed to act after all this?

Everyone knows her face, and everyone connects her identity to literal murder. This situation is utterly bizarre, and even us writing about it could negatively impact Gypsy herself.  We assume that she knows her decisions both in the past and in the present will be a part of her identity forever, so maybe instead of trying to lead a normal life, she’s accepted her past and encouraged the fame that came with her fucked up history.

Regardless, we at Jerk think that people creeping on Gypsy’s social media waiting for her to “fuck up” are stange people. She is not an influencer, she is a complex individual with a complex past; and certainly not a celebrity that should be idolized.

And if you’re someone reading this who’s been doing that: yes, this was a direct callout.