When Joy Behar Came Under Fire on ‘The View’ for Remarks to Gypsy Rose Blanchard: 'Murder Is Wrong'

Gypsy Rose Blanchard made a poignant appearance on The View earlier in January, albeit not without some unexpected tension. Freshly released from nearly a decade behind bars for second-degree murder in her mother's death, the 32-year-old faced a moment of discomfort on-air with co-host Joy Behar. According to Yahoo! movies, during the interview, Blanchard spoke about her future plans, expressing her desire to advocate for other abuse victims. She looked directly into the camera to deliver a powerful message, “If there is someone out there watching right now, please listen to me, heed my words, that you are not alone in this situation,” she said. “There are other ways out. I did it the wrong way, um, so—”

Behar quickly interjected, “No, no, honey, no,” cutting Blanchard off. “Don’t say that,” she added. “Well, I did—” Blanchard said. “You had no choice,” Behar responded. “I did something wrong, and I paid my dues for it,” Blanchard explained. Behar's realization of her misstep was palpable as she sheepishly backpedaled, acknowledging, “Oh, you mean that part.” Nodding in agreement, Blanchard affirmed, “Yes, That part of it.” “Where are you going with this, Joy?” one of Behar’s co-hosts shouted from off camera. “Yes, murder’s wrong,” Blanchard said with an awkward laugh.

As mentioned by Huffpost, the moment quickly made its rounds on X (formerly Twitter), where users couldn’t help but find humor in Behar’s initial response. However, many also empathized with Behar, understanding that she likely referenced the horrific abuse Blanchard endured. Blanchard's backstory is a harrowing one. Her mother, Clauddine 'Dee Dee' Blanchard, fabricated multiple illnesses since Blanchard's childhood, subjecting her to unnecessary medical interventions and abuse.

From early childhood, Blanchard was subjected to a web of deceit spun by her mother. Dee Dee fabricated numerous illnesses and conditions such as leukemia, muscular dystrophy, brain damage, and an unspecified chromosomal disorder. She forced Blanchard into a wheelchair, shaved her head, and even had a doctor implant a feeding tube in her stomach. Not only was Dee Dee emotionally and physically abusive, but she also exploited Blanchard's fabricated illnesses for her gain. She manipulated their community into believing the falsehoods, to maintain complete control over her daughter's life.

It wasn't until later in life that Blanchard came to the shocking realization that she wasn't sick at all. At the age of 19, she conspired with her then-boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, to end her mother's reign of deceit. In 2015, Godejohn was convicted of first-degree murder after fatally stabbing Clauddine Blanchard in her Springfield, Missouri home. He received a life sentence for his crime. “I’m a very private person, and I don’t like the fame,” Blanchard said. She added, “But the one thing that I can do with it is some good. So, I’m not in it for fame or fortune. My story is important to me, it happened to me, and I just want to be an advocate. I want to be somebody that can help others. That’s seriously all that I want.”