The Act star Joey King says that Gypsy Rose's murder of Dee Dee “came out of a loving place”
26 March 2019, 14:02
Joey King talks about The Act on Hulu, Gypsy Rose Blanchard and Dee Dee's death...
The Act’s Joey King says that Gypsy Rose's murder of Dee Dee “came out of a loving place”.
Where is Gypsy Rose Blanchard now? The true story behind Joey King's new series The Act
The Act debuted on Hulu last week (Mar 21) and has so far received widespread acclaim from fans and critics alike. The new eight episode drama is based on the real life story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard. Gypsy, who is played by Joey King, is currently serving 10 years in prison for being involved in the murder of her mother Dee Dee. Dee Dee famously claimed Gypsy Rose was sick with multiple serious diseases, including leukaemia, epilepsy, and more.
Why did Gypsy Rose actually kill Dee Dee?
The Act is a mostly faithful adaptation of Gypsy's true story and Joey's performance in it is incredible. Hearing Gypsy's story it would be easy to assume that she orchestrated the killing of Dee Dee simply out of vengeance and a wish to escape from her mother's clutches. However, Joey King has now opened up about Gypsy's motivations in an interview with Variety and they're probably not what you expect.
Joey King said: "When you listen to Gypsy give interviews now about why she had her mother killed, to her this was the logical answer. Her mom had always talked about how horrible and scary jail is — because Dee Dee had gone to jail — so she didn’t want her mom to go to jail." Joey then added: "And then her mom always talked about if Gypsy went away it would kill her emotionally."
Joey also said: "So she didn’t want to hurt her mom, so with those two options being off the table, she just thought the best, most kind towards Dee Dee option was to get rid of her." She ended her speech saying: "So the murder, in a really horrible, messed up way, came out of a loving place."
Dee Dee is believed to have suffered from Munchausen syndrome by proxy. Munchausen syndrome by proxy is a mental disorder in which a parent or a caretaker "fabricates or induces illness in a person under their care". With that in mind, it is likely that Dee Dee loved Gypsy, despite her actions. Not only that but it's likely that Gypsy loved her and that Dee Dee's murder was, as Joey says, out of love.
Gypsy didn't actually murder Dee Dee, herself. She started dating a man named Nicholas Godejohn online in 2012 and she later planned to elope with him and asked him to stab Dee Dee in her sleep. Godejohn is currently serving life in prison for first degree murder. American Vandal star Calum Worthy plays Godejohn in The Act. He will likely appear in the coming episodes.
