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A video of Gypsy-Rose Blanchard lip-syncing to Taylor Swift's "Mean" has gone viral, receiving over 11 million views.
Filmed in a bedroom, Blanchard uploaded footage of her miming the track to Instagram on Sunday, where it quickly grabbed users' attention.
"Lip syncing fun," the 32-year-old wrote alongside the post, which was quickly flooded with comments.
Featured on Swift's 2010 album Speak Now, the Grammy-winning single "Mean" hits out at the singer's critics while addressing her own shortcomings.
Newsweek has reached out to Blanchard for comment via Instagram.
The song may have special significance to Blanchard, who has experienced her fair share of public scrutiny. The Louisiana native hit headlines after she and her former boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn were arrested for the murder of her mother, Clauddine "Dee Dee" Blanchard, in 2015.
It is suspected that Dee Dee Blanchard suffered from Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a psychiatric condition in which a caregiver invents false symptoms or health issues in a child or other dependent for attention.
A rare disorder, sufferers may go as far as inducing symptoms in their victim via methods such as poisoning, tampering with test results or forging medical documents.
Gypsy-Rose Blanchard claims she was subjected to years of abuse, including being forced to use a feeding tube and wheelchair she didn't need and having her head shaved to resemble a chemotherapy patient. Dee Blanchard reportedly used physical abuse to control her daughter, lying about her age and mental capacity and isolating her from others.
Gypsy-Rose Blanchard met Godejohn online and the pair began a relationship, before concocting a plan to kill her mother. Godejohn pled guilty to first-degree murder and was jailed for life without parole, while Blanchard was sentenced to 10 years for second-degree murder.
Blanchard's story was documented in the 2017 HBO documentary Mommy Dead and Dearest and Hulu original series The Act in 2019. She has faced vicious trolling online since receiving early release in December 2023, as has her husband Ryan Anderson, who she met via a prison pen pal program and wed in 2022.
The lip-syncing video sparked backlash, with critics blasting Blanchard in the comments.
"This is weird," said Bri Aybar.
"Cringe," agreed Razakel.
"You're one to call anyone 'mean' when you plotted to have your own mother unalived," wrote Alicia Hulett.
"This is offensive to Taylor," said Lorrie Ross, while Zoe told Blanchard to "shut the hell up."
However, others defended Blanchard, telling the naysayers to "leave her alone."
"The ones being negative: DO YOU NOT REALIZE how WEIRD you look following this woman just to try to bring her down," said @paigevictoria.
"She's been through a lot and now she's free, let her live the years she lost," commented Hannah Sullivan.
"You should stay off socials for a while," suggested Nadia. "These comments have to be so hurtful and I really want you to have a happy, fresh start on life."
"I ADORE YOU GYPSY," wrote Liz, while Kimberly Rhoades said: "Don't let the people who don't know your situation take you down!"
Since being granted early parole, Blanchard has been living with Anderson, a teacher, in Missouri. She blasted trolls on Instagram in January, telling detractors to "Spread love NOT hate."
She shared a graphic that read "Keep calm and ignore the haters" to the platform, captioning the post: "Those who choose to stay ignorant about my personal growth as a person and place labels on me DO NOT influence my happiness."
About the writer
Sophie is a Newsweek Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in Lincoln, UK. Her focus is reporting on film and ... Read more