Gypsy Rose Blanchard had limited contact with the outside world in her youth thanks to her mother's abuse via Munchausen by proxy, but she still managed to have some interests growing up. The Lifetime series The Prison Confessions Of Gypsy Rose Blanchard showed photos of Blanchard and her mother, Dee Dee, attending conventions and Gypsy cosplaying as characters from Star Wars or other franchises. With so many upcoming Star Wars movies on the way, CinemaBlend wanted to know if her experience impacted her love of the franchise and cosplay.
CinemaBlend and others were invited to participate in a press event in support of The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard. When the Star Wars and cosplay question was posed to Gypsy, she touched on a recurring issue that will impact her life after release from prison and admitted that there will always be issues with things she connected to her mother, especially when it comes to cosplay:
I'm not gonna lie, a little bit. I think that looking at old pictures of me wearing different costumes and stuff even though the interest is there I can't help but have like a small part of me that still feels like when I put on a costume, I'm put back in that time. And that's just something that I'm gonna have to work through with a therapist. You know, I still have a lot of triggers that might be extremely subtle. So that actually could potentially be one of them. That's definitely not on the extreme side but on the subtle side of the trauma that happened…Even though I've got a major interest in all of cosplay and everything, it's beautiful to look at. But I don't feel the need to change my identity whereas before I felt the need to change my identity.
With some family and professionals unwilling to step in and remove her, Gypsy Rose Blanchard used cosplay as a form of escaping her dark reality that she struggled with daily. While Blanchard confirmed that she still has an interest in the world of cosplay and appreciates it from a distance, it's not something that she'd personally want to get back into out of fear of triggers.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard's husband, Ryan Anderson, who made headlines after she defended their bedroom life from fans, added a bit to what his wife saying. Anderson shared his take on the situation, which Blanchard agreed with after hearing his thoughts:
She probably wore those cosplay outfits and costumes to get out of the current life. She was living with her mother. So it was like an escape and I think she loves who she is now as a woman and as a person. So, right. So I guess she's right when she puts on that costume, she's escaping a good life that, now, so she might not want to do it as much.
While she may not be interested in doing Star Wars cosplay, Gypsy Rose Blanchard did confirm to the press that she's still a fan of the franchise overall. Blanchard, who was sentenced to ten years in prison in 2016 for second degree murder of her mother Dee Dee, was released in late December of 2023. Gypsy Rose was arrested in 2015 after her mother's death, and as such, likely hasn't seen much of what's been released since then. This would potentially mean the sequel trilogy, as well as every television series.
On the day she spoke to the media, Gypsy Rose Blanchard confirmed she had watched at least one of the new Star Wars shows. Surprisingly, she went straight for Obi-Wan Kenobi, though anyone who wasn't there for Baby Yoda's meteoric rise as the next Star Wars star might not understand why they'd want to watch The Mandalorian straight away. It would be interesting to see her takes on the newest era of the franchise as a fan who sees it way later than everyone else, assuming she's willing to share those opinions with the public.
There is a question of how much longer Gypsy Rose Blanchard will be in the public eye, especially as questions continue to mount as more people see The Prison Confessions Of Gypsy Rose Blanchard or the fictionalized story available with a Hulu subscription, The Act. It's possible that after the buzz dies down following her release, the docuseries, which may be one of the best True Crime shows out right now, to answer the questions of the public.
The Prison Confessions Of Gypsy Rose Blanchard will replay on Lifetime on Friday, January 12, beginning at 6 p.m. ET, and on Sunday, January 14th, beginning at 10 a.m. ET. Tune in for more details of what people didn't know about the case that captivated a nation and what the future holds for Gypsy Rose outside of her love of Star Wars.
