Case Dismissed: Gypsy Rose Defamation Lawsuit Against Blogger Comes to Screeching Halt
Gypsy Rose Blanchard's lawsuit against blogger April Johns stemming from their past media partnership was dropped by a court in Missouri on Wednesday.
June 5 2024, Published 6:30 p.m. ET
Gypsy Rose Blanchard's lawsuit against blogger April Johns stemming from their past media partnership was dropped by a court in Missouri on Wednesday.
RadarOnline.com obtained case documents that show the matter was dismissed because the "venue is not proper in Livingston County." We reached out to Blanchard's lawyer as well as Johns — who goes by the name Franchesca or Fancy Macelli on social media — for comment.
Blanchard, her father, Rod, stepmother Kristy, and stepsister Mia filed the lawsuit last month, accusing Johns of defamation, fraud, breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and false light.
According to the lawsuit, Blanchard's parents first came into contact with Johns in 2017, while she was serving a 10-year prison term for the murder of her biological mother, Dee Dee. Johns, owner of Mad Ginger Entertainment, allegedly claimed to be an “up and coming producer” and offered to create media projects about the troubled figure's life and case on her behalf.
In late 2017, Blanchard and her parents signed agreements that gave Johns the right to profit from her story. As part of the deal, the family gave Johns and her "team" access to evidence from the murder case, like crime scene photos and police videos as well as "Gypsy's private, protected medical records," the lawsuit stated.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard recently divorced her husband Ryan Scott Anderson and is expecting her first child with boyfriend Ken Urker.
"For over two years, plaintiffs Gypsy, Rod, and Kristy worked diligently with defendant Johns/Macelli, participating in numerous conversations and interviews," the docs read. "During this period, Johns/Macelli claimed to possess the necessary skills and experience to fulfill her contractual obligations."
The relationship began to deteriorate, however, due to John's "failure to secure any media projects or produce any marketable content, as well as Johns becoming confrontational over Gypsy's relationship with her fiancée Ken," and the Blanchards cut ties with the producer in 2019.
The Blanchards claim they were approached by the blogger shortly after Gypsy began her prison stint.
For three years afterward, the Blanchards alleged, Johns continued creating and profiting from content "in the form of posts, comments, videos, podcasts, interviews, etc on numerous social media and streaming platforms."
The family claimed that her posts became increasingly defamatory, submitting evidence to the court showing statements allegedly made by the content creator, calling Blanchard a liar and dubbing her stepmom a "con artist."
Additionally, the Blanchards claimed that Johns falsely accused them of stalking her and encouraging others to harass her when she allegedly expressed fears that someone might "take her out."
The Blanchards claimed that Johns continued profiting off of Gypsy's story for years after they severed their business partnership.
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The Blanchard family sought a temporary restraining order, a preliminary and permanent injunction against Johns, and unspecified damages.
As of Wednesday, it was unclear how the matter would move forward, or whether the case would be moved to a different location. This is a developing story.
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