Mommy Dead and Dearest
Content that may disturb, cruelty, sexual references, violence Rated on: 16 May 2017
What's it about?
The documentary explores what led to the murder of Deedee Blanchard by her daughter Gypsy Rose and Gypsy’s boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn. It details the controversial condition Munchausen by proxy syndrome.
The facts
- Directed by Erin Lee Carr (At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal, Britney vs Spears)
- English language
- Runtime: 78 minutes
Why did it get this rating?
This documentary was self-rated by Neon. You can find out more about self-rating by streaming providers here.
Violence
The documentary includes discussions and images of the real-life murder case of Deedee. Images of Deedee’s bloody hand and blood on sheets are shown. She is shown lying face down covered in blood on her bed. A close-up image shows the stab wounds on her body. Gypsy talks about what she heard while Deedee was being stabbed and the last conversation they had before Deedee went to bed that night.
Content that may disturb and cruelty
Gypsy Rose was psychologically and physically abused by her mother, up until her mother’s death. Throughout the documentary, doctors and Gypsy talk in detail about the abuse she suffered. For example, deceiving Gypsy and others to believe she was sick, Deedee slapping and hitting Gypsy with coat-hangers, and more generally preventing her living a normal life.
In one scene, Gypsy talks about Deedee smashing her computer and cell phone with a hammer and threatening to smash her hand too. We hear how she handcuffed Gypsy to her bed for up to two weeks. After the murder took place, it’s said that Gypsy posted on Deedee’s Facebook “That b*tch is dead” and a post about slashing her throat, calling her a “fat pig” and sexually assaulting “her daughter”.
Sexual violence
There is discussion about sexual coercion and rape. Gypsy talks about how her online boyfriend Nicholas initially wanted to rape Deedee after murdering her. Gypsy made a deal with him and said he could rape her instead. We see images from police files of Gypsy’s neck and arms with signs of violence (red marks and bite marks are shown). In a police interview, Nicholas says everything was consensual but in Gypsy’s interview she says it wasn’t, and that he hurt her.
Sexual references
In the police interview, Nicholas speaks about BDSM and the dominant and submissive roles in his relationship with Gypsy. Most of their relationship was online roleplay, with Gypsy creating and sending her boyfriend images of herself in sexually suggestive poses.
It’s mentioned that Nicholas was arrested for public masturbation. There is a video of Nick naked in bed, no nudity is shown as the bedding covers his body.
Mental health
At the end of the documentary Gypsy says to her father that if she had received a life sentence, she would have attempted suicide.
Helplines
The violence, cruelty and sexual content could be upsetting for some viewers. If you or someone you know needs to talk:
