Gypsy Rose Blanchard is advocating for new legislation to fight online harassment after the death of her partner, Ken Urker.
In an Instagram post on Oct. 4, Blanchard, 35, directed her followers to a Change.org petition for a proposed law to combat online bullying, which she called Kenan’s Law.
The petition, started by Blanchard, says Urker received an “enormous amount of public scrutiny” before his death and that there was “extensive content about him that we believed crossed the line from criticism into targeted harassment and cyberbullying” across various social media platforms. She alleged they both reported this content to social media platforms, but she and Urker were often told “no violation” was found.
The petition urged lawmakers to require social media platforms to implement additional procedures for handling harassment, including the ability to report multiple posts at once in cases of an ongoing pattern of harassment, rather than “forcing every incident to be evaluated in isolation.”
“Kenan’s Law is about changing the way social-media platforms handle repeated reports of harassment,” she wrote on Instagram. “One post viewed alone may not tell the whole story – but hundreds of posts, videos and comments directed at one person can reveal a pattern that deserves meaningful review.”
“Ken’s passing has made me determined to turn pain into purpose,” she continued. “I cannot change what happened, but I can advocate for a better system for the next person who feels like no one is listening.”
Blanchard met Urker while she served time in prison for assisting in the murder of her mom, Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard. The pair welcomed a child together, daughter Aurora Raina Urker, in 2024.
The Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana previously confirmed to USA TODAY that officers responded to a call to a home on Thursday, Oct. 1 at 6:15 p.m., where Urker was found dead.
According to an incident report obtained by USA TODAY, authorities were called to Urker’s home after receiving a request for a welfare check on Urker, who was making threats of suicide.
In her Change.org petition, Blanchard said Urker “died following a suspected overdose” but said “we do not know whether the overdose was intentional, and I will not speculate about circumstances that have not been determined.”
If you or someone you know needs help battling a substance abuse addiction, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
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Contributing: Taijuan Moorman and Anthony Robledo
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gypsy Rose Blanchard wants new online harassment law after Ken Urker death
Reporting by Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
