Gypsy Rose Blanchard faces online ‘death threats’ following early prison release

The star discussed social media backlash and threats in a recent episode of ‘Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up.’

In the third episode of "Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up," Gypsy-Rose Blanchard reacted to the online criticism she received following her early prison release in December 2023. 

While discussing the unexpected media attention and the nearly 5 million Instagram followers she gained, Blanchard revealed the disturbing messages she encountered.

Blanchard recounted a particularly threatening message she received on social media, saying, "You stupid waste of space. Wait until you are canceled by real people. That’ll ruin your life. You are going to wish you are back behind bars. I can’t wait to be a part of tearing you down bit by bit. You deserve nothing but to be six feet under or locked away forever."

The message continued, "There are real kids with cancer and real-life problems, unlike you, that just went along with it because mommy told you to." The person who wrote the threat called Blanchard a "poor excuse for a human being" and wished "the worst for you."

Blanchard shared her concerns about the potential dangers of such threats. "What happens if I get a hater that is a little too comfortable with how they feel and they come up to me and punch me or get physical with me? You know, that is a dangerous situation. When the backlash comes, am I at risk for dangerous people?"

Blanchard has been open about her relationship with social media, telling PEOPLE during a Lifetime panel in May how it has negatively affected her mental health. 

"I'm very much an introvert. And so coming out and this media storm hit me, and I was… at first, I really, really was touched by the positivity that people were showing me," Blanchard said at the time. 

"And then as social media began and how it always does, it turned negative. It started to have a negative effect on my mental health."

Blanchard also spoke about her decision to step back from and eventually return to social media. "But I just recently got back into it with having learned don't read comments," she told PEOPLE. 

"So I mean, I'm just trying to live my life in the best way that I can. And like I said, that's going to include missteps, but I learned from them.”

Blanchard was released from prison early in December 2023 after serving eight years for her role in her mother Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard’s 2015 murder in Missouri. 

In November 2018, Blanchard’s then-boyfriend, Nick Godejohn, was convicted of first-degree murder for carrying out the slaying, while Gypsy pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Godejohn is currently serving a life sentence without parole.

A victim of Munchausen by proxy, Blanchard has said Dee Dee mentally and physically abused her throughout her entire life, convincing everyone around them that she was a terminally ill teenager with the mind of a child. 

Blanchard has also said she was even forced to have unnecessary surgical procedures and use a wheelchair despite being able to walk.

"Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up" premiered on June 3. New episodes of the show air every Monday at 9 p.m. ET on Lifetime.