Gypsy-Rose Blanchard and family sue content creator Fancy Macelli for alleged defamation

Gypsy-Rose Blanchard and her family are taking legal action against a content creator who allegedly defamed Blanchard after their former partnership fizzled.

The Blanchard clan – including Blanchard’s father Rod, stepmother Kristy and stepsister Mia – filed a lawsuit against April Johns (aka Franchesca, or Fancy, Macelli) in the circuit court of Livingston County, Missouri, on May 23. The family is suing Johns for several alleged offenses, including fraud, breach of contract, unjust enrichment, defamation and false light.

Blanchard and her parents met Johns while Blanchard was serving a 10-year prison sentence following the murder of Blanchard’s biological mother Dee Dee Blanchard, according to the lawsuit. Johns, who runs the production company Mad Ginger Entertainment, allegedly offered her services to produce media projects about Blanchard’s life and case.

The relationship reportedly soured after the Blanchard family claims Johns failed to "secure any media projects or produce any marketable content," per the filing. However, Johns purportedly continued to create and post content about Blanchard, against the family’s wishes.

USA TODAY has reached out to Johns for comment.

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Blanchard pled guilty to second-degree murder in 2016 after conspiring with her then-boyfriend Nick Godejohn to kill her mother, who allegedly suffered from Munchausen syndrome by proxy (those with this condition make children sick by creating fake symptoms of disease or inducing real ones). The case has been well-documented in the media in both a fictionalized retelling and several documentaries.

The 32-year-old was released from prison in December 2023.

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Gypsy-Rose Blanchard accuses Fancy Macelli of violating content agreement

In late 2017, Blanchard and parents Rod and Kristy each signed a “Life Rights Option Agreement” with Johns, according to the family’s complaint. As part of the agreement, the Blanchard family provided Johns with “access and copies of the evidence and documents surrounding Gypsy’s life and case,” which included crime scene photos, court transcripts, family photos and videos, and Blanchard’s medical records.

“For the next two plus years, plaintiffs Gypsy, Rod and Kristy diligently worked with defendant Johns/Macelli. They had countless conversations and interviews with her regarding their lives and the circumstances of the murder,” the lawsuit reads. “During this time, Johns/Macelli purported to be skilled and experienced enough to perform her side of the contract.”

In 2019, the Blanchard family “severed ties” with Johns after she allegedly was unable to produce the media content they had agreed to and became “confrontational over Gypsy’s relationship with her fiancé Ken,” per the filing.

Johns went on to post about Blanchard’s case in explicit detail online through “comments, videos, podcasts (and) interviews,” the lawsuit states. Some of this content, which featured documents provided to Johns by the Blanchard family, was reportedly monetized through subscription-based platforms such as Patreon.

“As evidenced by defendant Johns/Macelli’s conduct, and the conduct of her agents/associates, Johns/Macelli is intentionally and freely utilizing the materials she received from plaintiffs pursuant to the agreements signed by plaintiff Gypsy and plaintiffs Rod and Kristy, respectively, without their consent and for her own pecuniary gain,” the lawsuit reads.

Blanchard and her family also claim Johns’ content became critical in tone toward the family. “I'm obsessed with the fact a murderer and her lying, con artist stepmother are conning the world one paycheck at a time!!!” Johns allegedly wrote of Blanchard and Kristy in an excerpted Facebook post, per the filing.

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Fancy Macelli claims Gypsy-Rose Blanchard and her family are stalking her

In the lawsuit, the Blanchard family alleges Johns falsely accused them in social media videos of stalking her and encouraging others to “stalk and harass her.”

“She has stated that she is in fear that someone ‘will take her out,’ ” the lawsuit reads. “She presents no evidence to back up the assertions that she is either being stalked or that the plaintiffs are encouraging such behavior.”

The Blanchard family also claims in the filing that a letter was sent to Johns by attorneys requesting that she stop “creating content and saying false, defamatory and harassing things” about Blanchard and her family, as well as remove previously published content. Johns allegedly failed to contact the Blanchards’ legal team and has continued to post content about the family on social media.

The Blanchard family is requesting a temporary restraining order and a preliminary and permanent injunction against Johns, according to the lawsuit. They are also seeking unspecified damages as compensation for Johns’ alleged offenses.

Both the temporary restraining order and a preliminary and permanent injunction, if granted by the court, would bar Johns from continuing to produce content about Blanchard’s case and her allegations against the Blanchard family. Johns would also be required to remove such content that has already been released.

A hearing in the case is scheduled for Wednesday morning, according to the Missouri Courts website.

Contributing: David Oliver, Ryan Collingwood and Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY