American consumers have developed a sickening fascination with true crime. Over the past decade the popularity of podcasts, documentaries, and social media posts related to serial killers have skyrocketed. A study conducted by Edison Research in May 2024 found that 84% of the US population (13+) consumed any sort of true crime media in the past year.
Along with basic true crime media consumption, comes a strange and shocking amount of pure obsession. Normalized through social media apps and streaming services, an appalling adoration for some of America’s most notorious killers emerged.
On December 28, 2023, Gypsy Rose Blanchard was released from prison on parole. When the news caught wind in the months prior, social media posts formulated, encouraging and supporting her release. People seemed to be building a pedestal, just waiting to give her a comfortable place in society when the day finally came.
If you’ve never heard of Gypsy Rose you’re in for a chilling story. Her case in particular plagued the nation back in 2015 when it was discovered that she and her boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, had planned and carried out the murder of Gypsy’s mother, DeeDee. Clauddine “DeeDee” Blanchard, suffered from Munchausen syndrome by proxy. DeeDee went to incredible lengths to fake a multitude of fake symptoms on her daughter.
When she was released in December of 2023, she began posting on social media. As of 2024, Gypsy Rose has a net worth of $3 million. Gypsy earned this through not only her social media followings, but through multiple books and documentaries as well. Society has somehow found a way to turn a convicted felon into a millionaire in the span of one singular year.
An overwhelming amount of support and empathy for Gypsy was the overall consensus. Many people defended her actions, claiming that it was reasonable because of the pure abuse Gypsy had endured over her entire life.
While that’s not an insane idea and anyone with empathy for others could understand how her mental health affected her choice that day, murder is never the answer. We as a society desperately need to reanalyze what we are doing. Forgiving someone who has served their time for their crime is one thing but making them a public figure or celebrity is too far.
If you are a follower of basic true crime, you’ll notice that this isn’t the first time a felon or murder has been obsessed over. Killers such as Ted Bundy, Richard Ramirez, and Jeffery Dahmer all had bizarre fan clubs and odd support from the public for their horrific crimes but something makes modern instances different: social media. Social media is utilized to amplify these criminals after people watch the content and debriefs on streaming services.
Social media provides the community with an open space for expression. While this is commonly viewed as a positive aspect, this open space may have become too welcoming. Social media allows people to connect with people who have similar interests and opinions.
When people have this obsession with specific criminals, it’s easy to discover others with the same idea or to convert others into agreeing with your point of view. This creates an overflow of disgusting yearning and encouragement that has become so normalized.
Community contribution to the over glorification of criminals needs to come to an end. Social media shouldn’t be getting too intensely involved in the lives of these felons and murders no matter the scenario.
