is the show the act based on a true story

The Act begins at the end of their relationship, on a night in 2015 when police find Dee Dee murdered in her bed.

Such is the odd in-between feeling of watching The Act, Hulu’s five-part mini-series on the bizarre story of inseparable mother-daughter duo Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose Blanchard. But given that the show’s ominous score hints at creepiness from the first scene, that a hard-knocks neighbor (Chloe Sevigny) has already expressed skepticism about Gypsy’s charity case, and that Dee Dee’s murder was all over both the news in 2015 and the Act’s first episode, Gypsy’s deceptive mobility isn’t a surprise. The police department accepted Dee Dee's claims without further investigation, and simply noted in their report that Gypsy did indeed suffer from 'a mental handicap.Gypsy’s furtive steps are revelatory, to a point – Gypsy has spent the prior 50 or so minutes of screen time in a wheelchair, seemingly beset by illnesses that keep her head bald and her frame frail. He was not notified, and the claims went unchecked. Rod Blanchard, Gypsy's father, sent Dee Dee money monthly for his daughter's care. When the police paid Dee Dee and Gypsy a visit, Dee Dee explained that the inconsistent birth dates and name spellings were designed to evade an abusive husband. Two years later, an anonymous call to the Springfield Police Department expressed doubt that Gypsy was truly ill and requested authorities to take a look at inconsistencies on her birth certificate.

Though the girl had a relatively clean bill of health, doctors chose not to probe and instead treated her for vision, hearing, sleep, and salivation problems that stemmed from the muscular dystrophy Dee Dee insisted Gypsy had.Īccording to the BuzzFeed article, one doctor in Springfield, Missouri, pediatric neurologist Bernardo Flasterstein, did tell Dee Dee about his doubts in 2007 he even noted 'a strong possibility of Munchausen by proxy.' But nothing came of his suspicions. With MSBP, doctors may be reluctant to bring up any suspicions that a patient or their caretaker is lying or exaggerating symptoms, because it could be harmful to the patient's wellbeing.Īs early as 2001, tests for Gypsy's muscular dystrophy and her brain and spine scans all came up negative for any issues. Patricia Arquette and Joey King in The Act Hulu + Brownie Harris People became suspicious about Gypsy's conditions.

Is the show the act based on a true story