The moment we’ve all been waiting for is finally here. In the newest episode of The Kardashians Season 5, titled “This Is My Most Important Job,” Kim Kardashian sits down with Gypsy Rose Blanchard, the convicted felon-turned-internet icon.
Blanchard was convicted for aiding in the 2015 murder of her mother in a desperate attempt to escape years of abuse. Blanchard’s mother, who unknowingly suffered from Munchausen syndrome by proxy, tricked the world into thinking her daughter was terminally ill by shaving her head, making her eat through a feeding tube and forcing her to use a wheelchair.
Blanchard was also subjected to countless painful and unnecessary surgeries throughout her lifetime before asking her then-boyfriend to kill her mother.
Despite her 10-year sentence, the subject of Hulu‘s The Act was released early from prison in December 2023.
And three weeks later, Kardashian flew out to New Orleans to meet with her.
“I give you massive kudos right now because I think a lot of people are afraid of touching me as a topic because I’m too controversial,” Blanchard tells Kardashian, who hopes to guide the 32-year-old with her knowledge of criminal justice reform.
Blanchard reveals to the Skims founder that what “upsets” her “so much” is that she was denied therapy when she first went to prison, despite the years of abuse she endured.
“When I got to prison, I asked them if I could get therapy and really deal with the trauma that I went through,” she says. “I received a notice that I didn’t qualify for one-on-one therapy.”
Kardashian — who is currently in law school as she advocates for second chances and criminal justice reform — elaborates on the importance of therapy for prisoners hoping to eventually re-enter society.
“Just the simple fact that she couldn’t get therapy while she was in prison is a problem,” she says in her confessional. “I think that ultimately we want to bring people home that are rehabilitated. And how can we do that if it doesn’t start with giving them the tools and having them go through therapy before they get home?”
Blanchard further opens up about her time behind bars, admitting that there were times when she would play her mom’s favorite song to allow herself to “cry and grieve.”
“Sometimes I’d have to do it in the shower, too, because crying in prison — you’re so vulnerable,” she explains. “Especially women. They can be so catty. Their first go-to is, ‘Well, you killed her so why are you crying about it?’ It’s hard.”
Blanchard also tells Kardashian about her life post-prison, revealing that she got to try steak for the first time in her life when she was released. However, she notes that coming back into the real world has been a “whirlwind.” According to Blanchard, her landlord at the time had been pressuring her to put her name on a lease — even though she wouldn’t be able to pass the background check.
“The system is just — it’s built to fail,” she says. “I want to bring awareness. I want to be the person that I wish I had to guide me.”
Kardashian ends their conversation by promising to set Blanchard up with her trusted team of people to help her kickstart her advocacy work.
New episodes of The Kardashians air every Thursday on Hulu.
The post Gypsy Rose Blanchard Tells Kim Kardashian She “Didn’t Qualify” For Therapy In Prison After Murdering Her Abusive Mother appeared first on Decider.
