Gypsy Rose Blanchard has shared her thoughts on the Menendez brothers' case. Blanchard, 33, spoke to TMZ at LAX on Sunday and offered her advice to Erik and Lyle Menendez, who might be released from prison nearly 30 years after they were convicted of murdering their parents.
"It's very challenging to re-enter a world that has changed so much, even during the time I spent in prison," said Blanchard, who served seven years for the murder of her mother, Clauddine "Dee Dee" Blanchard. "Reacclimating is a tough process. I would advise them to take their time, adjust properly, and seek therapy because it's essential in today's world."
In 2016, Blanchard pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but she was released early in December 2023. Her ex-boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, killed her mother in their Springfield, Missouri home in 2015. Dee Dee had Munchausen by proxy syndrome and subjected Blanchard to years of child abuse.
After her release, Blanchard found herself in the public eye as documentaries about her case, "The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard" and "Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up," aired on Lifetime. In July, she announced she is pregnant with her first child with boyfriend Ken Urker, after splitting from husband Ryan Anderson just three months after her release.
The Menendez brothers were convicted of murdering their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in 1989 and were sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1996. They claimed they were sexually abused by their parents and killed them in self-defense, but the jury still found them guilty.
Following the success of Ryan Murphy's Netflix series "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story," district attorney George Gascon announced that new evidence of sexual abuse against the brothers is being reviewed. A court hearing is scheduled for late November, which could result in a retrial or their release.
Blanchard told TMZ that while she's "not well-versed in that case," she supports the Menendez brothers' potential release. "I advocate for abuse victims and support prison reform," she said. "If the case is being reviewed, hopefully, something positive will come from it. Abuse victims need more advocacy."
The TMZ reporter also informed Blanchard that Kim Kardashian is advocating for Erik, 53, and Lyle, 56, to be freed. "Kim is a wise woman. She makes good decisions in her prison reform efforts," Blanchard said about the 43-year-old reality star. Kardashian, who has visited the brothers in jail, wrote an essay for NBC News on Oct. 3, expressing hope that their life sentences would be reconsidered. "I don't believe spending their entire lives in prison was the right punishment for this complex case. If this crime had been tried today, I think the outcome would have been very different," she wrote. Blanchard also appeared on Season 5 of "The Kardashians" to discuss the prison system.
