Dee Dee suffered from a condition known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy , which causes an individual to pretend that someone in their care-in this case, Gypsy-is ill or disabled in order to get sympathy and attention. For Gypsy, that meant years of being told she had a host of health problems, needed a wheelchair and a feeding tube, and had a learning disability...when she was actually a healthy child.
If that sounds intense, hold on, because the story gets even crazier . After meeting a boyfriend (Nick Godejohn) online, Gypsy planned to murder Dee Dee so she could escape. With Gypsys help, Godejohn killed Dee Dee, and the two fled from Gypsys Missouri home to Godejohns in Wisconsin. Both were later arrested, and it was revealed that Gypsy had been healthy, and essentially imprisoned, by her mom all along. Nick was charged with first degree murder and Gypsy with second degree murder. Shes currently serving her ten-year sentence in prison.
Gypsy and Dee Dee's story is one of the most well-known accounts of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, and Gypsy has been interviewed by countless news outlets about it, and multiple documentaries have been written about her. Gypsys family seems to have a reached a point where theyd like the coverage to stop. According to Gypsys cousin Bobby Pitre, Gypsy's aunts (Dee Dees sisters) think it's pretty f*cked up. They hate all of it. They don't know why people keep making stories about it," Pitre told RadarOnline . "They want people to just let it go and leave it alone."
No one knows what Gypsy herself thinks of The Act, but shes aware that the show has been made. Writer Roxane Gay tweeted that Gypsy was in the know, though its unclear how Gay discovered that.
Actress Joey King , who plays Gypsy in The Act alongside Patricia Arquette as Dee Dee, has expressed that shes anxious about what the real Gypsy will think if she ever watches the show. What we tried to do was really just accurately represent what happened and who these people were," she said on Build Series . "It is nerve-racking cause I was thinking about if she sees it one day, I think it will be really, really, really hard for her to watch. I think it will be hard for them to watch other people play them, number one, and also this is like reliving your truth. And so I can't even imagine what that would be like if [she] saw it."
King said she researched her role extensively, watching as many video interviews with Gypsy as she could, and reading the 2016 Buzzfeed investigative article by Michelle Dean that The Act is based on.
I watched the documentary countless times. I found any interviews, any home videos I could scramble on the internet. It was really helpful to have Michelle Dean on our show because I would go to her a lot. I would call her up a lot just for stories and information," King told the Los Angeles Times . The only research King wasnt allowed to do was talk with Gypsy herself, she told the Today show .
Despite what seem to be reservations about the show from some of Gypsys family, her dad and stepmom have been involved with the production of another series called By Proxy, according to the Springfield News-Leader . Its also been reported that Gypsy was involved with the show, but its unknown if that program was actually ever picked up by a network.
You can watch The Act on Hulu tonight, and check back for updates on any comments on the show by Gypsy Rose herself.
