The Act
Summary
Content Warning : the following article contains discussions of sexual violence , child abuse , and murder .
The Actis a true crime anthology serial that centers around Dee Dee Blanchard and her victim / daughter , Gypsy Rose Blanchard , but isThe Actaccurate ? The material case of Gypsie Rose took piazza in 2015 when police begin investigate the murder of Dee Dee Blanchard . By the time the case came to full brightness , it turn out that Blanchard had forced Gypsy Rose to pretend to be sick and ill , and then peril her when she assay to escape . In 2015 , Gypsy Rose had a boyfriend she met on the Internet who bump off Dee Dee to help unloosen Gypsy Rose . Both Gypsy Rose and her young man choke to prison and Hulu told a fictionalized interlingual rendition of the narrative withThe Act .
While there are a lot ofsimilarities betweenThe Actand the real - life history story that it is found on , there are several divergence as well . As expect , television set shows are known to dramatize and exaggerate post that are base on real - life result to create more entertainment and convenience for the patch . It even say at the end of every instalment how " while the show is based on veridical result , some scenes and characters have been aggrandise or fictionalise . “With Gypsy Rose out of prison house , The Actmight be getting a fresh look .
In Run , Chloe Sherman is poison by her female parent Diane with Trigoxin and Ridocaine , which causes Chloe ’s illness - but could it happen in veridical life ?
Things They Kept The Same
The Video Recording Is Based On What Really Happened
In episode 6 ofThe Act , a chilling video shimmer of Gypsy Rose and her fellow Nick express joy and ingest a great time less than 24 hours after Nick kill Dee Dee Blanchard . While this scene seems too haunt to be real , Gypsy did record the fun video with Nick , and the dialogue is close to the same as the real - life footage . Gypsy Rose has say her embarrassment towards the video yet claimed the reason she was acting so happy was because she was extremely high at the time on drugs . She also said she felt a sense of freedom for the very first time in her animation , which proceed during her prison house stay , where she said she felt free for the first time ( viaABC ) .
The Cinderella Story Is What Was Really Planned Out
There are several versions and retellings of the classic " Cinderella story , " yet none are quite like the one between Gypsy and Nick . According to the documentaryMommy Dead andDearest , the couple plan tomeet up at the flick theater for thelive - action remake ofCinderella(2015 ) , and somewhat much everything that happened inThe Actduring the theatre of operations scene was accurate . That includes the two creep off to have sex in the theater ’s restroom ( viaFox4 ) . In real life , Nick dressed up as Prince Charming at the field , which most likely make Dee Dee to be even more suspicious of him .
Nick’s Dissociative Identity Disorder Was Real
Gypsy ’s swain at the fourth dimension , Nick Godejohn has a few similarity in substantial lifeto the version inThe Actportrayed by Calum Worthy . Worthy did a heavy amount of inquiry on the grapheme before portraying the role and everything from his mannerisms to his dieting was continue the same ( viaVanity Fair ) . Nick ’s existent - life diet mostly consisted of monkey nut butter and pizza , so Worthy would run through the same food exclusively to become the character . In an interview with Dr. Phil , Gypsy Rose said that Nick " had multiple personalities that were red and scary . He think he was a 500 - year - former lamia named Victor " ( viaThe Wrap ) . However , that alter was his " high-risk side . "
Dee Dee Really Did Tie Gypsy Rose Up
In real life , Dee Dee Blanchard tied her girl up to the bed . Although in the show Dee Dee does this more than once , it only happened one time in real life after Gypsy essay to bunk away . unluckily , Gypsy was starved in real lifeand more panic-stricken than slavish and accept of her female parent ’s conduct as impersonate on the show . According to Gypsy Rose , it was one of the worst moments of her life . Despite all that , Gypsy Rose suppose she never desire her female parent dead , but it was the only way she thought she could escape ( viaABC ) .
" I also had more freedom in prison than I ever had with my female parent … She had a lot of demons herself that she was struggling with . I did n’t need her utter . I just wanted out of my situation . And I intend that was the only room out . "
Lacey Was Based On A Real Person
Gypsy Rose Blanchard ’s admirer inThe ActisLacey ( AnnaSophia Robb ) . She is base on Blanchard ’s real - life history " best acquaintance , " Aleah Woodmansee . Much like on the show , the two were neighbors and Woodmansee would help oneself Gypsy teach more about thing chaff their eld usually take an stake in , such as the theme of son and dating . Like on the show , Woodmansee was the only one to know about Gypsy ’s secretFacebook account name " Emma Rose " and she was also in on the fact that Gypsy would use the account to message boys . Aleah Woodmansee served as a respectable friend to Gypsy Rose by allowing her an ear to expose all her mystery .
Things They Changed
Nick Never Really Called Dee Dee To Admit His Relationship
In episode 5 ofThe Act , Nick Godejohn calls Dee Dee up and confessesto her that he is the man from the theatre duringCinderella , and he has secretly been date Gypsy . He tell Dee Dee how he plans on spending the rest of his life history with Gypsy while having kids with her one sidereal day . This induce Dee Dee to tie Gypsy up to the bed for an extended menstruation . In real liveliness , this phone call never happened . grant to the Blanchard category friend , Fancy Macelli , " If that had happened , I can aboveboard say I ’m not sure we ’d even be sit here talking " ( viaIn Touch Weekly ) .
Gypsy’s Wheelchair Incident Was Not Due To A Trampoline
As seen in episode 6 , Gypsy end up in a wheelchair after she pass off of a trampoline . In genuine life , the incident that led to Dee Dee squeeze Gypsy into a wheelchair was brought on by a minor bike accident she experienced with Dee Dee ’s father . The setting with the trampoline is completely fictitious , and instead of using Dee Dee ’s female parent ’s wheelchair , Dee Dee uses a random wheelchair she found " From God get laid where " . As posit by the Blanchard family friend Fancy , " The bike fortuity was weird enough , but to consider a kid fall off a trampoline and that everyone bought she was paralyzed … it was very calculated and strategical . "
Dee Dee Blanchard Was Not In Jail For An Extended Period
On the show , it appears Dee Dee Blanchard expend at least six months in jail due to write bad checks , yet in substantial life story , she only spent a single Nox in jail . Perhaps this was done on the show to embellish material - life story events and to make more of a struggle between Dee Dee and her mother Emma , where Emma taste to spend that time taking control over Dee Dee ’s parenting for Gypsy . Yet Dee Dee ’s relationship with her mother Emma was very different in real living than it was on the show . This is just one part of adding dramatic event to their relationship .
Nick Isn’t As Nice As He Was Portrayed In The Act
There are a fewmajor difference of opinion between Nick inThe Actand the real - life Nicholas Godejohn . The Blanchard syndicate claimsthe show attempts to humanize Godejohn too much as an idiotic untried manwho means well , while in real lifetime he was much more in dominance of things during the issue lead up to Dee Dee ’s destruction . As image in the documentaryMommy Dead andDearest , Godejohn planned on assaulting Dee Dee Blanchard as well as hit her .
Gypsy Rose says in the infotainment how she made a deal with her then - boyfriend that he could assault her instead so that he would n’t violate her mother . Gypsy then claimed that Godejohn went through with the deal and assaulted Gypsy as " Victor " , despite her screaming for him to stop . In her 20/20 audience , Gypsy said that she never could have belt down her mother , but it was something Nick had no problems doing ( viaHarper ’s Bazaar ) .
" There ’s a big difference between someone who expect someone to vote out someone and someone that actually does it . Because I would never shoot down somebody . I would never physically go through with defeat somebody . I ca n’t . I do n’t detest him . I palpate deplorable for him , and just that somebody could do something so heartless and not express remorse and not finger like he ’s responsible for it . "
Dee Dee Blanchard And Her Mother Didn’t Really Clash
Dee Dee Blanchard and her female parent Emma seem like enemies inThe Act . It seems as if the two are always butting heads and vie over control when it come up to parenting Gypsy Rose . Emma even claims on the show how Dee Dee progress to it impossible for her to ever love her . In real life , their family relationship is quite different . grant to The Blanchard mob and Fancy , Dee Dee was seen as " the favorite " of Emma ’s nipper and was constantly move over limited attention . There have even been claims that Emma had symptoms of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy , although it was said to be milder than Dee Dee ’s circumstance .
