Netflix’s ‘Dahmer’ Series Receives Backlash from LGBTQ Community and Victims’ Families
The Netflix series Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story has been heavily criticized by families of the victims, the reporter who broke the story, and the LGBTQ community. Despite the reproval, Time reports that it has risen to one of the streamer’s most-watched series and is in Netflix’s Top 10 in 92 countries.
The true crime series, which was released on September 23 and created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, dramatizes the story of the Milwaukee, Wisconsin serial killer, Jeffery Dahmer, played by Evan Peters, who murdered and cannibalized the bodies of 17—primarily Black and Brown—men and boys over a 12-year period.
In a promotional video, Peters explains that the series attempts to shed light on how the victims were failed by a system that was prejudiced and discriminatory. “It’s called The Jeffery Dahmer Story, but it’s not just him and his backstory,” Peters says. “It’s the repercussions; it’s how society and our system failed to stop him multiple times because of racism, homophobia.”
Netflix initially tagged the series as LGBTQ alongside ominous, psychological, and horror, which raised concerns among the LGBTQ community. A viral TikTok posted by user Lizthelezbo says,” Why the f—k did Netflix tag the Jeffery Dahmer documentary LGBTQ? Like, I know it’s technically true, but this is not the representation we’re looking for.” Another social media user tweets that the decision was “pretty gross” considering “the True Crime tag would have worked…”
If I need to stay in my lane absolutely tell me but anyone else think it’s pretty gross of @netflix to list Dahmer under #LGBTQ, especially when the True Crime tag would have worked? pic.twitter.com/wPzwc2oOKP
— Frances *Deadly SoverAuntie* Danger (@FrancesMFDanger) September 21, 2022
However, the Independent reports that “It has been speculated that the reason the series was initially marked ‘LGBTQ’ was that many of Dahmer’s victims were LGBTQ, or because of Dahmer’s own sexuality. The reason remains unconfirmed by Netflix.” The series has since been removed from the controversial categorization.
This was concurrent with ethical concerns expressed by the families of the victims. Rita Isbell, sister to victim Errol Lindsey, was portrayed in the show by DaShawn Barnes without consent. She writes in a personal essay published in Insider, “I was never contacted about the show. I feel like Netflix should’ve asked if we mind or how we felt about making it. They didn’t ask me anything. They just did it. But I’m not money hungry, and that’s what this show is about, Netflix trying to get paid.
“I could even understand it if they gave some of the money to the victims’ children… If the show benefited them in some way, it wouldn’t feel so harsh and careless,” she continues. “It’s sad that they’re just making money off this tragedy. That’s just greed.”
Lindey’s cousin, Eric Perry, also tweeted about the retraumatizing effects true crime documentaries have: “How many movies/shows/documentaries do we need?”
I’m not telling anyone what to watch, I know true crime media is huge rn, but if you’re actually curious about the victims, my family (the Isbell’s) are pissed about this show. It’s retraumatizing over and over again, and for what? How many movies/shows/documentaries do we need? https://t.co/CRQjXWAvjx
— eric perry. (@ericthulhu) September 22, 2022
While families of the victims have to be reminded of the events just by scrolling through their Netflix account, it may all be for nothing. Anne E. Schwartz, the reporter who broke the 1991 Jeffery Dahmer story in the Milwaukee Journal, tells the Independent that the filmmakers took “artistic license” with many of the key details. One of the inaccuracies that stuck out to her most was episode one, in which Glenda Cleveland knocks on Dahmer’s door.
“None of that ever happened,” she says “I had trouble with buy-in because I knew that was not accurate. But people are not watching it that way; they’re watching it for entertainment.”
Schwartz also tells the Independent that after having spent a lot of time with officers at the scene and conducting interviews, she believes the depiction of them as racist and homophobic to be incorrect. She described that the reason for Dahmer’s evasion was likely the product of the general intolerance of the gay community in Milwaukee during that time and his calculated attack on members of that community. Because of the fear that they’d be outed to their families and employers, which could have been detrimental, many gay men were less likely to report offenses, making them more vulnerable targets for Dahmer.
Despite her qualms with the show’s inaccuracies, overall, she states that Milwaukee residents would prefer to no longer discuss this case. According to Time, it is the second production about Dahmer in the past five years and the third in the past two decades.
B.J. Daniels, a Milwaukee drag performer who previously worked at Club 219 where Dahmer targeted many of his victims, tells TV station WISN, “I feel like it (the series) fetishizes this whole horrible moment in Milwaukee history. It shouldn’t be looked at that way; it just feels completely wrong.”
“I know a lot of my friends and a lot of people who lived through this period will not be watching it,” Daniels says. “They will not be putting money into somebody’s pocket that is literally disturbing the graves of victims.”
