Joey King has revealed that she was in contact with Gypsy Rose Blanchard after her release from prison.
The 24-year-old “Ramona and Beezus” star portrayed Blanchard – who was convicted of second-degree murder – in the 2019 Hulu limited series “The Act.”
King told Variety that she has been speaking with the former prisoner since her release from prison after serving eight years of her 10-year sentence.
“She and I talked a little privately, which was really nice,” King told Variety on an upcoming episode of the Just For Variety podcast.
The Kissing Booth actress also said there is no bad blood between the pair after Blanchard, 32, said she was upset because The Act allegedly never asked her for permission to tell her story – nor did she for it compensated.
Joey King revealed that she was in contact with Gypsy Rose Blanchard after her release from prison. The 24-year-old actress portrayed Blanchard – who was convicted of second-degree murder – in the 2019 Hulu limited series The Act; seen on January 17th
“She and I talked a little privately, which was really nice,” King told Variety on an upcoming episode of the Just for Variety podcast; Blanchard pictured Jan. 5 in New York
“It was really nice to talk to her privately,” King said.
“We both know there is absolutely no ill will toward each other,” King continued.
“I really appreciated that we were able to say things to each other that were really kind and supportive, because people are stupid and assume whatever they want and people just make things up because they think it's funny.”
She added: “There was no air to clean at all.” There was nothing wrong. But it was nice to just connect for a minute.”
King also noted that she thought it was so great that Blanchard was released from prison and “now she can really start her life.”
King was nominated for an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her role as Blanchard, while her co-star Patricia Arquette, 55, won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Gypsy's mother Dee Dee.
Blanchard's life after prison will next be explored in an upcoming Lifetime documentary.
The new series comes after Lifetime aired the six-hour special The Prison Confessions Of Gypsy Rose Blanchard last month.
In 2016, Gypsy's then-boyfriend Nick Godejohn stabbed her mother Dee Dee in the middle of the night because she asked him to kill her.
It later emerged that she had been a victim of her mother's Munchausen syndrome by proxy.
For well over a decade, Gypsy's mother had medically abused her only child, pretending she had a litany of illnesses – including leukemia, asthma and muscular dystrophy – and insisting that Gypsy be in a wheelchair, have a feeding tube and take an array should from medication.
She even had some of Gypsy's salivary glands removed, which eventually caused her teeth to decay and forced her to have them pulled.
The “Kissing Booth” actress also said there is no bad blood between them after Blanchard, 32, claimed to be upset that The Act never asked her permission to tell her story or compensated her for it ; pictured in January in NYC
“It was really nice to talk to her privately,” King said. “We both know that there is absolutely no ill will towards each other”; pictured in November 2020
“I really appreciated that we were able to say things to each other that were really kind and supportive, because people are stupid and assume whatever they want and people just make stuff up because it's funny to them”; seen in Paris in 2022
She added: “There was no air to clean at all.” There was nothing wrong. But it was nice to just connect for a minute.
King also noted that she thought it was so great that Blanchard was released from prison and “now she can really start her life.”
King was nominated for an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her role as Blanchard, and her co-star Patricia Arquette, 55, won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Gypsy's mother Dee Dee
Dee Dee had lied to Gypsy as well as doctors and acquaintances about her daughter's age, making everyone believe she was much younger than she actually was, ostensibly to keep Gypsy under her legal control.
During an interview with 20/20, Gypsy recalled that after her escape attempt, her mother “tied me to the bed, put bells on the doors, and told everyone that I probably trusted that I would get through.” and to tell her if I have done anything behind her back.'
While Gypsy accepted a plea deal for second-degree murder for enabling Dee Dee's death, Nick was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Since Gypsy was paroled in September, her fans have been celebrating, with many declaring that she didn't “deserve” to go to prison at all.