Comparing Ryan Anderson and Ken Urker: Fans See A Double-Standard

Gypsy Rose Blanchard, 32, was engaged to Ken Urker, 31, while she was behind bars, serving her 10-year sentence for her involvement in her mother's murder. However, shortly after the drama "The Act," starring Joey King as Gypsy Rose, was released, Ken broke it off due to the attention and added scrutiny from the public.

She then went on to marry Ryan Anderson, but the two announced their separation earlier this year. Gypsy has since gotten back together with Ken.

As fans continue to follow the divorce of Gypsy and Ryan and the rekindled romance between Gypsy and Ken, some are now speculating that there is a double standard from the public regarding both relationships and individuals.

Is There A Double Standard?

After seeing fans bash Ryan Anderson yet idolize Ken Urker, one social media user called out the "double standard."

"What bothers me is how many times I have seen people focus on Ryan being weird and creepy because he reached out to a girl and married her in prison, but I almost never see that same energy with Ken?" the individual said. "Did Ken not do the exact same thing?"

For the record, yes, yes, he did.

Both Ryan and Ken contacted Gypsy after seeing the 2017 documentary "Mommy Dead & Dearest." However, fans, for whatever reason, tend to forget that and they only attack Ryan (not Ken) for how he met the ex-convict.

After Ken wrote her a “letter of support,” Gypsy said they started communicating via letters every week. “We became fast friends,” she told E! News. “It was pretty soon after that that we started talking on the phone. We would spend hours on the phone. I talked to him like I had known him my whole life and vice versa.”

Gypsy and Ken eventually got engaged in 2019, but Ken soon broke it off. Gypsy went on to marry Ryan, but the two separated three months after she was released on parole.

Why Is There A Double Standard?

The social media user then speculated why this could be, citing both looks and the fact that Ryan went through with marrying Gypsy while Ken broke off their engagement.

"I just feel like there's a double standard when it comes to Ryan vs Ken, mainly the whole 'he is creepy for trying to get with a prisoner who killed her mom' etc.," they said. "But I am not seeing the same energy about Ken, at least not as often."

"I know Ryan is in the spotlight right now because of the series, but still, they should be judged the same way if they did the exact same thing," they concluded, referencing Lifetime's docuseries "Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up."

Do Fans Agree?

After reading the social media post, many other fans took to the comments section to express their opinions, including one user who admitted that while they "do not even think it is necessarily creepy to reach out to someone in prison," the reason Ryan is receiving backlash is due to his "controlling and overbearing" behavior that is shown in the docuseries.

For those who have not yet seen the Lifetime project, Ryan has been under fire for several interactions he had with Gypsy, including their first night together after she was released, where he "rubbed all on her" and seemingly only cared about having sex.

"Also, when she was on an important phone call with her PO, and he literally got upset and tried to grab the phone from her, she even had to tell him to hush," the social media user added, referring to a scene in the first episode.

Ryan Anderson Gets Blasted For His Behavior

Many other social media users also pointed out that Ryan is receiving more hate than Ken because he is the one being shown in the docuseries. Lifetime has confirmed that Ken will also be a part of the project, but he won't appear until later episodes, more than likely after Gypsy and Ryan call off their marriage.

"I don't disagree, but I think a lot of the dislike for Ryan is flat-out because we've seen him in interviews, we've seen him boss her around and act controlling and possessive of Gypsy," one social media user wrote in response to the double standard post.

"We haven't seen Ken do that yet, so people are likely willing to give him more of a chance to prove himself at this point," they added. "Also Ken apparently backed out of an engagement with her already, so that could be seen as him not trying to become famous off her, etc."

Ken Urker Labeled As An 'Enigma'

Since fans have not seen much of Ken Urker, aside from the few live videos Gypsy has posted to her social media accounts, they feel they cannot form an opinion on him until they see more of him in the Lifetime docuseries.

"Ken is an enigma," one social media user said. "We don't really know much about him other than the bit from when she was in prison. He left her shortly after they announced their engagement, and he's done well so far to keep out of the media."

"I don’t know anything about Ken. We haven’t seen him yet on the show," another wrote.

Fans will have to wait and see it all play out as new episodes of "Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up" air on Mondays.