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Why did Gypsy lose her teeth? Episode 2 of The Act has fans feeling "heartbroken"
22 March 2019, 13:55
Fans of The Act on Hulu are reacting to the heartbreaking scene where Gypsy visits the dentist to have her teeth extracted.
Hulu's The Act, starring Joey King and Patricia Arquette premiered this past Wednesday (Mar 21) and audiences are already hooked. King and Arquette play Gypsy Rose and Dee Dee Blanchard in a dramatised story of a real life mother-daughter tragedy. One scene fans are finding particularly distressing is the one where Gypsy has her teeth removed in episode 2.
In The Act episode 2 "Teeth", Gypsy Rose has all her teeth extracted after her mother discovers she is suffering from tooth decay. After Gypsy Rose complains of tooth pain, she and Dee Dee visit a gastroenterologist to find out whether there is an underlying acid reflux issue causing her teeth to decay. In the end they visit a dentist but, instead of having one or two teeth removed, all of Gypsy Rose's front teeth are extracted and it's pretty emotional.
Understandably, fans are pretty shook after the heartbreaking scene.
Gypsy Rose's panic and subsequent reaction to seeing herself without teeth had fans feeling especially emotional.
Few things have made me as physically uncomfortable as the teeth episode of “The Act” 😰 #TheAct
— kelly beans (@atinyowl) March 21, 2019
Currently watching #TheAct and I’m on episode 2 when Gypsy first sees herself without teeth 😢 @JoeyKing’s performance made me fucking emotional. Holy crap 🤭
— C (@Cloudher9) March 21, 2019
fucking AMEN, out of all the documentaries i’ve watched about this case, just actually seeing the things she went through holly shit, THE TEETH SCENE DESTROYED ME. Gypsy was TORTURED, straight up TORTURED. She shouldn’t be in jail. fuck .
— BoneThugs&Hominy (@_HoneyHennessy) March 21, 2019
Just watched @TheActOnHulu & @JoeyKing did not disappoint. That mirror & bathtub scene after the teeth surgery broke my heart. Joey, you are fucking brilliant. Always are. I’ve followed this case for years & you did Gypsy justice. Can’t wait for the rest of the series. #TheAct
— Jaclyn Coughlin (@Jac_Cough) March 20, 2019
Joey even revealed that she had to wear green screened teeth for the episode.
As for what caused the real Gypsy's teeth to need that level of extraction...
A Buzzfeed News investigation by Michelle Deen reported that the specific cause was unclear.
"Gypsy’s teeth rotted out and had to be extracted, though whether that was because of poor dental hygiene or a mixture of medications and severe malnutrition, it's hard to say."
Where is Gypsy Rose Blanchard now? The true story behind Joey King's new series The Act
Gypsy Rose Blanchard is understood to have suffered years of traumatic abuse at the hands of her mother Dee Dee. For years, Gypsy was told she had (and was treated for) various medical conditions that she did not actually have. There may be a chance that the medication she was on contributed to the tooth decay.
