Netflix’s Jeffrey Dahmer biopic faces huge backlash from victim’s family, LGBTQ audience for its controversial content

Netflix’s latest crime thriller drama ‘Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’ has attracted an equal share of fans and detractors. The show explores the life and crimes of Jeffrey Dahmer, one of the most notorious serial killers in history, who is said to have murdered 17 people (most of them young men from marginalised groups) over a span of 13 years. The storyline is narrated from the perspective of the victims.

Since its release on September 21 2022, the series has gone on to become one of the most-watched shows on Netflix. However it has also invited massive backlash from the family members of Dahmer’s victims as well as the queer community.

‘Monster’ Is A Monstrous Hit

Despite receiving mixed reviews and a low rating of 45/100 at Metacritic, the series turned out to be a massive success. According to Netflix’s Weekly Top 10 report, the thriller series debuted on top of the English TV List with 196.2 million hours viewed, making it the most-viewed title in its first week. It also featured in the streaming platform’s ‘Top 10’ list in over 92 countries.

Family Of Dahmer’s Victims Called Out Netflix

Although the audience are raving about the direction and the top-notch performances of the cast, especially Evan Peters who plays the role of the sadistic killer, the family members of one of Dahmer’s victims are less than pleased with the series.

Rita Isbell, the sister of Errol Lindsey, one of Dahmer’s victims, felt that the traumatic episode of her family had been sensationalised by Netflix. In a recent interview with the Insider she revealed that she had never been contacted by Netflix or the makers of the show.

“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,” she was quoted as saying.

Lindsey’s cousin Eric Perry also called out the creators Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan on social media. Taking to Twitter he shared a passionate post, revealing that what was entertaining for the rest of the world was just another mindless retelling of their family trauma.

“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.” He continues, “It’s retraumatizing over and over again, and for what? How many movies/shows/documentaries do we need?” read the post.

Backlash Over LGBTQ Representation

The LGBTQ community is also displeased with the web series. Dahmer was reportedly gay, as were most of his victims. Due to this, the series was initially tagged as ‘LGBTQ’ along with other labels such as ‘dark’, ‘horror’, ‘crime’ etc. Usually the ‘LGBTQ’ tag is used for more wholesome shows like ‘Heartstopper’, ‘Sex Education’ etc so queer viewers were left shocked when the grisly crime series was touted as an ‘LGBTQ’ drama.

“Why the f**** did Netflix tag the Jeffrey Dahmer documentary, LGBTQ?” one person asked in a TikTok video. “I know it’s technically true, but this is not the representation we’re looking for.” The video has gone viral since then.

The backlash led to Netflix removing the category tag.