Gabby Petito Lifetime movie LIVE — Slain vlogger & Brian Laundrie film dubbed ‘very cringe’ as ‘red flags’ pointed out
THE case of slain vlogger Gabby Petito captivated the nation in 2021, and now, her story has been adapted into a film for Lifetime.
The movie, The Gabby Petito Story, was released on October 1, with Skyler Samuels playing Gabby and Evan Hall acting as Brian Laundrie.
In response to the film, one critic tweeted: "This #GABBYPETITO movie is very cringe. I can honestly imagine Brian being weird like this character playing him. He gives jealous narcissist.”
Viewers also took to Twitter during the premiere to point out the "many red flags" shown in the relationship before the couple's road trip.
One tweet read: "I told my mom I’m only 17 minutes in and he’s already so possessive. He really showed up to her work because she wasn’t answering the phone. None of this was a red flag?"
A second Twitter user said, "I'm seeing so many red flags in Brian that I saw in my ex," while another wrote: "I’m just tuning in and he is suffocating and manipulative already."
Read our Gabby Petito movie live blog for updates...
Viewers criticize actors for being ‘too old’
Some of the Lifetime movie viewers took shots at the actors being “too old” to play Gabby and Brian.
“Why did they cast thirty year olds that look old to play Gabby Petito and Brian???” wrote one person.
“Watching the Gabby Petito Story and the actors playing Gabby and Brian look about 10 years older than they were in real life,” said another with a laughing emoji.
Gabby also sold Brian’s ‘strange art’
The 22-year-old van-life vlogger, who would be found strangled to death months later, also sold old clothes, headbands, and custom-made items on her Depop page.
For $5, she sold hand-designed bookmarks made by Brian Laundrie that were splatted with blood.
The bookmarks came in a variety of designs, some of which featured birds, penguins, and even a shadowed outline of the Marvel Comics character Hellboy, a known favorite of Laundrie’s.
A second design, a black outline of a dead mockingbird, is also advertised for sale next to a copy of Palahniuk’s horror-satire novel Lullaby, which Gabby and Brian spoke about reading during their doomed adventure.
All the items on Gabby’s Depop page are listed as “SOLD”, though it’s unclear when those sales were made.
Gabby sold ‘healing necklaces’ before disappearance
The vlogger sold healing necklaces that sought to “eliminate pain, rage and stress” and “provide the strength to move on” just months before her ill-fated road trip with Brian Laundrie, from which only he returned.
Retailing for $10, Gabby sold at least three of the necklaces on her page, which appear to have originally been made by Target.
One of the chains has what’s described as a “Gold Howlite Healing stone”, which Gabby claimed helped its wearer find stability, patience, and awareness.
“Howlite stone helps teach patience and helps to eliminate rage, pain and stress,” the listing reads.
A “Black Agate” necklace was also sold by Gabby at around the same time. That item claimed to contain powers of “Protection. Strength. Alignment.”
The third necklace sold, an “Amazonite light healing stone”, claimed to represent “self-expression, inspiration and calming vibes.”
Gabby’s final text
Gabby’s mother believes that her daughter’s last text wasn’t written by the late vlogger.
The message was sent to Nichole Schmidt on August 30 when Gabby and fiancé Brian Laundrie were still on their cross-country road trip.
The mysterious text read: “No service in Yosemite”
Yosemite is about 800 miles away from Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming where Gabby’s remains were eventually found.
It’s unclear if Gabby was the one who sent the message, but the FBI has pinpointed her date of death to between August 27 to 30.
Gabby was killed by ‘throttling’
While Dr. Blue’s initial remarks lacked specificity, he later appeared on CNN and elaborated on Gabby’s cause of death, insisting she had been killed by “strangulation via a throttling.”
Professor Joseph Scott Morgan, a forensic expert and former medical examiner teaching at Jacksonville State University in Alabama said Brent’s comments are significant, as “that really narrows the field down because throttling is so very specific.
“He went to great lengths to even say that this was not mechanical, which essentially means that there wasn’t a ligature involved,” Morgan said. “When they say throttling, they’re talking about the application of two hands on this young woman’s throat.”
Morgan called the manner of death “intimate”, adding that throttling can either happen anteriorly — from the front — or posteriorly — from behind, and is often driven by a component of passion.
Mission of the Gabby Petito Foundation
On October 3, 2021, Gabby’s family announced that they had launched the Gabby Petito Foundation in honor of their late daughter.
According to the website, the organization’s mission is “to address the needs of organizations that support locating missing persons and to provide aid to organizations that assist victims of domestic violence situations, through education, awareness, and prevention strategies.
“We wish to turn our personal tragedy into a positive,” the mission statement reads.
“It is our hope that Gabby’s foundation will bring these important issues into the forefront of the public eye to the benefit of all our communities.”
The foundation’s tagline is a phrase coined by Gabby’s dad in an Instagram post after her remains were found at a Wyoming campsite on September 19: “She touched the world.”
Gabby’s mom wanted Brian jailed
In a heartbreaking interview that laid bare her devastation and anger, mom Nichole Schmidt slammed Brian Laundrie as a “coward” who “knows what he is doing.”
Before his remains were identified, in an interview with 60 minutes, Gabby’s mom Nichole said: “He is a coward.”
“I just want to get him in a cell for the rest of his life,” she added.
“I don’t want to say he is insane or anything, he went home, he’s hiding, he used her credit card.”
“I mean, that’s not someone who has gone crazy. He knows what he is doing.”
‘Her final resting place’
Gabby Petito’s family traveled to Wyoming where her remains were found near Grand Teton National Park on September 19, 2021.
“It almost felt like her home. Her final resting place,” Gabby’s mom, Nichole Schmidt, told Dr Oz on an episode of the show featuring Gabby’s parents and step-parents.
“Such a beautiful, peaceful place to be. And we went there to bring her home and that’s what we did.”
Gabby was found in Grand Trenton National Park
Authorities in Wyoming reported that a body had been discovered in the region where Gabby’s search had been going on on September 19, 2021.
It was confirmed that Gabby’s remains had been identified on September 21, 2021.
In Grand Teton National Park, where Gabby and Brian had camped out before she vanished, the remains were found.
Gabby Petito’s dad at her funeral, continued
“And she’s inspired a lot of women and a lot of men to do what’s best for them first. Put yourself first and do it now while you have the time. I couldn’t be more proud as a father,” he added.
Joe also warned women in toxic relationships to “leave now” so that way this tragedy does not happen to them.
Just days after, the family then held a press conference, where Nicole showed off matching tattoos that were designed by Gabby prior to her death.
On October 3, 2021, Gabby’s family announced that they had launched the Gabby Petito Foundation in honor of their late daughter.
Gabby Petito’s dad at her funeral
On September 26, 2021, the Petito family held a memorial service for Gabby to lay her to rest following the autopsy results.
At the service, her father Joe said that he wanted people to be “inspired” by the life she embodied.
“So when you leave here today, be inspired by what she brought to the table because the entire planet knows this woman’s name now,” he said.
Gabby Petito Lifetime movie dubbed ‘insensitive’
One critic tweeted: “And THIS is why Lifetime shouldn’t have rushed and put this story out.
“Too many holes in the story so far.. also it’s insensitive as hell to Nicole and Joe.”
Another wrote: “Most of the time when #LifetimeTv does a TV movie based on someone’s life they do a great job with the acting.
“The actress playing #GabbyPetito is a little more assertive & forward than #Gabby came off in all her videos. Gabby was more meek.”
Who is Rose Davis?
Rose Davis was one of Gabby‘s best friends and she’s portrayed in the Gabby Petito Lifetime movie.
She became friends with Laundrie through her relationship with Gabby, though their friendship was strained, she told People.
Rose previously described him as a controlling and manipulative boyfriend with jealousy issues and said Gabby had sometimes stayed with her to put some space between them.
The Gabby Petito Story: The rest of the cast
Other stars in the movie include:
- Thora Birch, who stars as Nicole Schmidt.
- Stacey Ann Turner, who stars as Tara Petito.
- Douglas Taurel, who stars as Joe Petito.
- Nikki SooHoo, who stars as Miranda.
- Monica Moore Smith, who stars as Rose.
- Aaron Groben, who stars as John.
The Gabby Petito Story: The main cast
The Gabby Petito Story will recreate the circumstances surrounding the vlogger’s passing with an all-star cast.
In the film, Skyler Samuels plays Gabby. The television shows The Gates, Wizards of Waverly Place, Scream Queens, The Nine Lives of Chloe King, and The Gifted all starred Skyler.
In the film, Brian Laundrie is portrayed by Evan Hall. Evan is well-known for his work on Mars, Just Ask, and Orange Is the New Black.
Birch’s intention behind the film
“My main intention tonally was to mirror Gabby’s eye to a certain extent in how it was shot and following the van and their journey,” said Birch in her interview with IndieWire.
“Also, I wanted to keep it accurate to certain instances that are well-known and documented, such as the police pull-over in Moab.”
Director on film: wanted ‘an authentic portrait of the reality’
The Gabby Petito Story, which is directed by Thora Birch, stars Evan Hall as Petito’s fiancé Brian Laundrie and Skyler Samuels as Petito, a bright young woman who dreams of living on the road and vlogging about the experience.
By using well-known details from the case, Birch, who made her directing debut with the docudrama, says she tried to portray their connection as authentically as she could.
“The intention of telling the story of Brian and Gabby’s journey was to try and take all the information and facts that were out there and try to deduce the most realistic portrait of what their relationship could have been like.
“Also, to give viewers, hopefully, an authentic portrait of the reality behind the facade that she portrayed so beautifully in her online world,” Birch told IndieWire ahead of the film’s release.
National Domestic Violence Hotline
Before The Gabby Petito Story aired on Saturday, Lifetime TV shared the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
Alongside a brief preview of the film, Lifetime TV wrote in a tweet: “#TheGabbyPetitoStory premieres tonight at 8/7c.
“If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence or coercive control, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-SAFE or visit http://thehotline.org.”
https://twitter.com/lifetimetv/status/1576240695295328257
Gabby’s parents suffered ‘pain and mental anguish’
In their lawsuit, Joseph Petito and Nicole Schmidt claim the Laundries knew their son Brian Laundrie murdered Gabby, but didn’t tell detectives and refused to help with the investigation.
The Petito family said the Laundries’ behavior, “goes beyond all bounds of decency and is regarded as shocking, atrocious and utterly intolerable.”
They said they suffered, “pain and mental anguish,” according to FOX-13 Tampa Bay.
FBI wanted to ‘bring justice’ to Gabby and her family
“The FBI’s primary focus throughout the investigation was to bring justice to Gabby and her family,” the statement continued.
“The public’s role in helping us in this endeavor was invaluable as the investigation was covered in the media around the world.”
“On behalf of the FBI, I want to express my deepest appreciation to the public for the thousands of tips that were provided during the investigation, and to our local, state and federal law enforcement partners for their work throughout the investigation.”
What the FBI has said about the case
The FBI said on Friday, January 21, 2022, that it had concluded its investigation into Gabby Petito’s killing and the suicide of Brian Laundrie.
“All logical investigative steps have been concluded in this case,” said FBI Denver Division Special Agent in Charge Michael Schneider in a statement.
“The investigation did not identify any other individuals other than Brian Laundrie directly involved in the tragic death of Gabby Petito.”
FBI found confession months ago
The FBI revealed in January that investigators found Brian Laundrie’s confession in the notebook, according to Fox News Digital.
It had been underwater for roughly five weeks.
The journal used by Brian was discovered by his body at the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park on October 20 last year.
The Gabby Petito Story is unauthorized by her parents
The Lifetime movie made on the late YouTuber was slammed by Gabby Petito’s family earlier this year.
The Petito family didn’t like that the movie was being made at the time it was announced, according to a statement from Gabby’s mother that was provided by The AWARE Foundation.
“We thought our followers should know that the Lifetime movie on Gabby Petito has no connection to the Petito family nor did they give their approval,” the statement shared by the foundation reads.
“Lifetime took it upon themselves to make the movie.”
A&E announced the movie on May 5 as a component of Lifetime’s Stop Violence Against Women campaign. The title of the movie is The Gabby Petito Story.
The U.S. Sun received confirmation from Gabby’s mother Nichole Schmidt that the family wasn’t involved.
Movie sets a ‘new precedent’ for true crime, per PI
Intense criticism has been leveled at the movie, which examines the friendship and difficulties between Gabby Petito and her fiancé Brian Laundrie on their tragic road trip in 2021.
Jason Jensen, a private investigator who looked into the connection between Laundrie and another couple who were killed, thinks the movie will create a “new precedent” for true crime projects.
He told The U.S. Sun: “Shows such as Netflix’s Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes and the Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story talk about the villain.
“We spend way too much time paying so much attention to the bad guys and the killers.
“I hope that this is the moment that this is the beginning of a new trend where we can recognize and appreciate the victims.”
Enter the Laundries
Additionally, police claimed Brian Laundrie was “hindering” their investigation by refusing to cooperate.
Later, Brian Laundrie committed suicide. His remains and a message accusing him of killing Gabby were discovered together.
Later, Laundrie’s parents were sued by Gabby’s parents, who claimed they knew their son had killed her.
The Laundries have denied knowing of Petito’s death in advance.