Gypsy Rose and Anna Delvey
Getty Images (2)Gypsy Rose Blanchard. Anna Delvey. Eric and Lyle Menendez. Over the past few years, killers and con artists have gone from names you hear in the news to characters akin to celebrities on reality shows, hundreds of thousands of social media followers and ordinary people invested in every aspect of their lives, starting with their marriages. What they eat behind bars.
According to a June 2024 YouGov poll, 57 percent of American adults consume true crime content, and the entertainment industry has long drawn inspiration from the world's most high-profile cases (e.g., Zodiac Killer, Ted Bundy). But this current group of criminals is not black and white.
Case in point: Blanchard. She pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for her role in the killing of her mother, who experts believe was Munchausen's proxy. In 2019, Hulu gave the story the Hollywood treatment the law. After Blanchard, 33, was released from prison, she filmed the Lifetime documentary series appeared on Kardashians.
Meanwhile, Delvey — the “fake heiress” who was accused of stealing about $275,000 — was portrayed as a criminal mastermind. Julia Garner On Netflix Anna's invention. This year, Delvey, 33, received special permission from ICE to travel outside of New York to compete Dancing with the stars, The ankle bracelet is dazzling And all.
Law & Crime/YouTube Gypsy Rose Blanchard made headlines for more than just a murder. Gypsy was released from prison in December 2023 after serving seven years of a 10-year sentence. She was granted parole in September of that year. Gypsy pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2016, a year after her mother, Claudine[…]
According to the criminologist James PipeThese ex-criminals turned rising stars are “rooted in society's fascination with the darker sides of human behavior,” he says. we. “People are drawn to stories that explore moral ambiguity, and whose cases challenge conventional ideas about right and wrong.”
Another example is the Menendez brothers, who, despite killing their parents in 1989, become anti-heroes in light of… Ryan Murphy's Monsters. “An actor playing a criminal makes people interested in the real-life case,” says a psychiatrist and forensic expert witness Carol Lieberman He explains. without Monsterscriminal defense attorney Stacey Schneider “I don't think the prosecution would have reconsidered their long prison sentences,” he says.
As more scripted series get the green light – Melissa McCarthy He will star in Paramount+ Project about JonBenet Ramseywhile Hulu Amandabased on 2007 Amanda Knox case, are currently being filmed – and this trend is not going anywhere. Netflix Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey? exit Joe Berlinger He has a theory about why the genre has become a “bucket favorite” for Hollywood: “There's a chase for justice, a protagonist and antagonist vying for the truth, and (sometimes) a resolution at the end,” he says. wePointing to its “classical dramatic structure.” Lieberman shares the same sentiment: “Truth is stranger than fiction and attracts more viewers. The industry also seems to be lacking in original ideas these days.
These projects can also serve a greater purpose. National Center for Victims of Crime CEO Renee E. Williams Credits “Good true crime” – like Anna Kendrick's Woman of the hour About a serial killer Rodney Alcala – To educate viewers. “Decisions such as which images to display (and what they can tell) tell a poignant story versus a harmful one.” Share. So, while this form of media may be America's greatest entertainment, it's important to treat the stories it inspired for what they are: cautionary tales.
“The stories are so exciting that you feel like you can't make this stuff up,” Schneider says. we.
To learn more about true crime and get the Hollywood treatment, catch up The latest issue of Us Weekly – On newsstands now.
