Photo: Bristol County Sheriff's Office
She was obsessed with her friend Alice.
By Amy Lamare — Written on Jul 18, 2019
HBO's documentary I Love You, Now Die examines the case of Massachusetts teenager Michelle Carter and her boyfriend Conrad Roy. The teens lived about an hour away from each other and primarily carried on their relationship via text message. Lots and lots and lots of very intense text messages. Conrad was a troubled teen who often thought about suicide. Michelle was accused and convicted of encouraging Conrad to commit suicide via text. Specifically, the courts found that Michelle had a duty to intervene when she knew Conrad was killing himself by either calling the police, his family, or someone else who could help. It was a controversial ruling because, if you've seen the documentary, you know that the defense made a case that Michelle wasn't on scene and also felt she was doing what she felt was best for Conrad. They also claimed she suffered from mental illness herself. The judge, however, didn't see it that way. One of the things that came up during I Love You Now Die is the fact that Michelle was obsessed both with Glee's Lea Michele and her relationship with Cory Monteith, who died of a drug overdose in 2013. She also had a suspicious relationship with a woman named Alice, which also came up during the trial, leading people to ask: is Michelle Carter gay?
1. She was obsessed with Lea Michele
One of the story lines that I Love You Now Die follows is Michelle's obsession with Lea Michele and Cory Monteith — both their onscreen relationship on Glee and their off-screen real life relationship. The documentary focused on how a number of her texts to Conrad and to friends were verbatim quotes either from an interview with Lea Michele or from her character on Glee. Look, her Lea Michele thing was intense but not all that weird, TBH. Teenage girls are dramatic.
2. Who is Alice?
The documentary zeroes in on a friend of Michelle's named Alice Felzmann. Suddenly, after all the texts and drama with Conrad, she pivots and texts a friend that she thinks she might be gay because she really has intense feelings for this girl she knew last summer. It should be noted that Alice has not come forward at all. She did not participate in the documentary, however, she and her mother released a statement to the filmmakers refuting all claims that Michelle and Alice had a romantic or physical relationship.
3. Reactions from viewers
Twitter being what it is, views of I Love You Now Die have been speculating on Michelle Carter's sexual orientaton since the documentary premiered. From her Lea Michelle obsession to Alice to her new short haircut, Twitter is showing up to try and figure out whether Michelle is straight, gay, or bisexual.
4. What's going on with her case?
Michelle is currently in prison serving out the 15 month prison sentence that was suspended while she went through the appeals process in the state of Massachusetts. As you know if you've seen the documentary, the Supreme Court of Massachusetts refused to hear her case. All is not lost yet, as her lawyers have something else up their sleeves.
5. The Supreme Court filing
On Monday, July 15th, Michelle Carter's attorneys asked the Supreme Court of the United States to hear her appeal, calling it an "unprecedented' conviction. The New York Daily News obtained the petition and reported that it said: “Massachusetts is the only state to have affirmed the conviction of a physically absent defendant who encouraged another person to commit suicide with words alone.
6. It's a First Amendment issue
Michelle Carter's legal team is making her appeal about the First Amendment. The petition to the highest court in the United States reads: "First, charging Ms. Carter based on her words alone violated the First Amendment and the decision upholding her conviction created a conflict among state supreme courts,” the lawyer said in the statement. “Second, her conviction violated due process because the vague common law of involuntary manslaughter fails to provide guidance to prevent arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement in morally fraught cases involving suicide.” It has not yet been determined whether the Supreme Court will hear Michelle Carter's case or not.
Amy Lamare is a Los Angeles based freelance writer covering entertainment, pop culture, beauty, fashion, fitness, technology, and the intersection of technology, business, and philanthropy. She is deeply devoted to her chocolate Labrador and an avid long distance runner. You can find her on Instagram and Facebook.