Gypsy Rose Blanchard Responds to TikTok Backlash Over Controversial Video About Mother's Death
Gypsy Rose Blanchard is speaking out after facing severe backlash.
The 34-year-old, who served eight years in prison after being found guilty of second-degree murder of her abusive mother Dee Dee Blanchard, sat down for an interview after seemingly making light of the murder in a new TikTok with an influencer.
Keep reading to find out more…
In a conversation with TMZ, Gypsy Rose addressed how the TikTok video came to be.
“I had wanted to collaborate with Natalie Reynolds. I had been following her for quite some time — she’s another influencer with millions of followers. When you’re doing a collaboration, you want to understand someone’s background. A few friends of mine also told me about a video she got backlash for. So I was thinking this could be a really good collaboration if done the right way, because I’m no one to judge anyone’s past. I thought, what if we did the ‘we listen and we don’t judge’ trend and addressed the harder topics very bluntly — just owning it and taking accountability for the wrongs we’ve done?” she explained.
“The whole idea behind it was acknowledging that we’re not perfect. We are influencers, and we’ve gone through difficult things, but we’re focusing on positivity. That was the point of the video — accountability and growth.”
Gypsy Rose then explained why she understood the backlash.
“I can. Especially for me, I understand my audience has followed my journey because they like to see me grow. Usually, I can rely on my audience to receive things well, but I’m not the type of person to be very in-your-face about my past. This was the first time I tried a more direct approach, and unfortunately, it wasn’t received the way we hoped.”
Gypsy Rose also addressed people claiming she had no remorse based on her body language in the video, including using a gesture to demonstrate her death.
“No, that wasn’t the case. The only reason I approached it that way is because TikTok is extremely sensitive about wording. Natalie and I discussed what language to use, and words like homicide or other direct terms might have gotten the video flagged or taken down. So I thought, what if I just used a gesture — something people would understand without saying it outright? That’s why we did it that way…when you’re engaging with an audience that has many different opinions, you don’t know how something will be received. You can hope it goes well, but there’s always a risk. If I hadn’t addressed it, people would have brought it up in the comments anyway. It was a bold move on my part, and I think my delivery just wasn’t handled properly.”
Moving forward, she was asked about including her mother’s death in TikTok trends.
“I don’t think they should be included in trends. I thought I could frame it in a certain way, especially with the message of accountability and growth, but heavy topics like that probably don’t belong in that format. You don’t want to bring up something serious and just leave it there. The goal was to end on a more positive or inspirational note, which is why the video later shifts to lighter topics. But when we were discussing the heavier parts, we were completely serious — we weren’t laughing.”
As to those who are calling for an apology, she added: “I would say I deeply apologize to anyone who was offended. That was never my intention. I wasn’t laughing about it, and I don’t think it’s funny to joke about something so serious or about my past. I’m apologizing because the delivery was wrong. I’m trying to be my authentic self, and part of that is acknowledging that I did something bad in my past but also showing where I am now. That’s where I was coming from. But I would never joke about my past. So I do apologize if it came off as too abrasive.” Watch above.
See the TikTok that sparked controversy.