Dahmer

Film Editor Jess Parker comments on Netflix's true crime series, focusing on the moral and ethical issues that come with portraying a real-life killer.

Netflix appear keen to ride the wave of the current true-crime craze, and Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is no exception. The show seems to glorify Dahmer’s appearance and physique in many twisted scenes, which feels insensitive to the trauma that Dahmer had caused throughout his reign of terror. Due to Netflix and creator Ryan Murphy’s handling of this delicate subject matter, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story has received its fair share of backlash when concerning the moral and ethical handling of Dahmer’s crimes. There appears to be a dichotomy between the toll that Peters’ distressing roles take on him, and the faith that he puts in Murphy’s creative vision. Peters then goes on to expand on the faith that he places in Dahmer’s creator, telling Murphy, “I’m in your hands. In September of 2022, Netflix released Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.

The actress recently sat down with producer Ryan Murphy and co-stars Evan Peters and Richard Jenkins to discuss her role as Glenda Cleveland.

See our [latest prediction champs](https://www.goldderby.com/best-prediction-scores/awards/league-data/). I just said, ‘I’m just going to make sure I keep him in my prayers.’ Because this is a lot and he wants to do it justice.” Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our [famous forums](https://www.goldderby.com/forums/) where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Good morning!’ and he’s like, ‘No, ma’am.’ And I was like, oh, he’s in his process and I want to keep him there. [Make your predictions](https://www.goldderby.com/leagues/) at Gold Derby now. I don’t know the man.’ Because in his process, I respected his need to keep the distance and the tension so that it played out on screen. Emmy winner [Niecy Nash](https://www.goldderby.com/t/niecy-nash/) and two-time Oscar nominee [Richard Jenkins](https://www.goldderby.com/t/richard-jenkins/) discussed their dramatic supporting roles in this horrific true tale starring Evan Peters. And nobody is going to do anything?’ The hardest day was when the police came and walked the baby back into the apartment. “The truth is I cried like a baby,” Nash admitted to after hearing about the show’s success. She was the ‘nosey neighbor.’ She was the one to say, ‘Are y’all seeing what I’m seeing? “I felt responsible to get it right,” she continued. [Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story](https://www.goldderby.com/t/monster-the-jeffrey-dahmer-story/)” for a press event held Saturday on the [Netflix](https://www.goldderby.com/t/netflix/) studio lot.

Filming the Netflix show based on the terrifying true story of Jeffrey Dahmer took its toll on director Paris Barclay.

We tried to elevate and we tried to embrace Tony. We really protected the cast and crew as much as we could.” He then says that the idea was to help keep Hughes' memory alive, reminding viewers that he was a human being and not just a statistic. Others who've pushed on through have described how the series is just as heartbreaking as it is terrifying, given the nature of the crimes Dahmer's victims endured along with the everlasting impact that was left with their families. This episode had particularly left many viewers feeling devastated, and [Hughes' mother also criticized the series](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/oct/10/dahmer-victim-tony-hughes-mother-condemns-netflix-series) for dramatizing her son's murder. [Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story](https://movieweb.com/tv/monster-the-jeffrey-dahmer-story-2/) might be one of the streaming platform's most-watched shows in its history, but with its success has come plenty of controversy.

Ryan Murphy spoke to the New York Times about 'Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story' and seems to still just ignore the criticisms of the Netflix series.

Murphy claimed that they did over three years of research for the show and that they reached out to 20 friends or family members. We don’t know their names or their dreams or what was ripped from them, and with the exception of the Tony Hughes episode and a few moments in Dahmer where we get to see those victims, it’s just more of the same thing. This interview is frustrating because it shows that Murphy isn’t really willing to hear why people are having a problem with Dahmer. We got to spend time with Tony, and if the entire series had been focused on those victims, gave us these episodes and gave the victims their time, we maybe wouldn’t have people dressing up like Jeffrey Dahmer for Halloween and thinking that it is a fun and fine thing to do. tag from ‘Dahmer,’ and I didn’t like it and I asked why they did that and they said because people were upset because it was an upsetting story. And while I love a great deal of [Murphy’s work](https://www.themarysue.com/tag/ryan-murphy/), this Dahmer situation isn’t a good look.

Ryan Murphy explains why he wanted to tell the Jeffrey Dahmer Story on Netflix amid back-to-back streaming TV hits with Dahmer-Monster and The Watcher.

Murphy had previously [said](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/ryan-murphy-says-he-reached-out-to-20-of-the-victims-family-and-friends-for-dahmer-series-not-a-single-person-responded-to-us-1235250610/) that he and his team reached out to over 20 victims’ families and friends during their three and a half years of research and that “not a single person responded to us in that process.” He cited the sixth episode (“Silenced,” written by David McMillan and Janet Mock, and directed by Paris Barclay), which focused on Dahmer victim Tony Hughes, a Black deaf man, as an hour he’s most proud of: “There’s a five-minute scene of three gay deaf men at a pizza parlor talking in sign language about dating, gay life and how hard is it for them. [week-to-week](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/streaming-tv-rankings-sept-26-oct-2-2022-1235250255/), including the No. Will he remain at Netflix, where he’s now delivered the second-biggest hit in the streamer’s history with Dahmer, or will he return to FX and parent company Disney? How do I connect it with this audience?'” 21 release and was poised to cross 1 billion hours streamed over Halloween weekend, [per Murphy.](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/ryan-murphy-dahmer-show-success-evan-peters-step-brothers-1235251547/) It was then threatened to be outseated by Murphy and Ian Brennan’s next limited series [The Watcher](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/ryan-murphy-the-watcher-netflix-tips-1235246332/), a true crime-inspired thriller starring Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale, which released Oct. “I also don’t think that all gay stories have to be happy stories,” he said. “Everyone knew about Versace. “There was a moment on Netflix where they removed the LGBTQ tag from ‘Dahmer,’ and I didn’t like it, and I asked why they did that, and they said because people were upset because it was an upsetting story. [backlash from the victims’ families](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/jeffrey-dahmer-netflix-tv-show-victim-family-speaks-out-1235228196/), some of whom accused Netflix and production of never reaching out to them, and [has been criticized](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/dahmer-monster-the-jeffrey-dahmer-story-review-ryan-murphy-evan-peters-1235225967/) for exploiting trauma with the heavy focus on Dahmer’s horrifying behavior. [remove its LGBTQ tag](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/dahmer-netflix-removes-lgbtq-tag-backlash-1235229535/) from the show after some viewers complained. [Share this article on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/ryan-murphy-dahmer-netflix-1235253266/&title=Ryan%20Murphy%20Defends%20Dahmer%20Netflix%20Series&sdk=joey&display=popup&ref=plugin&src=share_button&app_id=1153511048447777) [Share this article on Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/ryan-murphy-dahmer-netflix-1235253266/&text=Ryan%20Murphy%20Defends%20Dahmer%20Netflix%20Series&via=thr) [Share this article on Email](mailto:?subject=thr%20:%20Ryan%20Murphy%20Defends%20Dahmer%20Netflix%20Series&body=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/ryan-murphy-dahmer-netflix-1235253266/%20-%20Ryan%20Murphy%20Defends%20Dahmer%20Netflix%20Series) [Show additional share options](#) [Share this article on Print]() [Share this article on Comment](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/ryan-murphy-dahmer-netflix-1235253266/#respond) [Share this article on Whatsapp](whatsapp://send?text=Ryan%20Murphy%20Defends%20Dahmer%20Netflix%20Series%20-%20https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/ryan-murphy-dahmer-netflix-1235253266/) [Share this article on Linkedin](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=1&url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/ryan-murphy-dahmer-netflix-1235253266/&title=Ryan%20Murphy%20Defends%20Dahmer%20Netflix%20Series&summary&source=thr) [Share this article on Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/ryan-murphy-dahmer-netflix-1235253266/&title=Ryan%20Murphy%20Defends%20Dahmer%20Netflix%20Series) [Share this article on Pinit](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/ryan-murphy-dahmer-netflix-1235253266/&description=Ryan%20Murphy%20Defends%20Dahmer%20Netflix%20Series) [Share this article on Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/widgets/share/tool/preview?shareSource=legacy&canonicalUrl&url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/ryan-murphy-dahmer-netflix-1235253266/&posttype=link&title=Ryan%20Murphy%20Defends%20Dahmer%20Netflix%20Series) [Ryan Murphy](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/t/ryan-murphy/) discussed his two smash hits for [Netflix](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/t/netflix/) in a new profile with [The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/29/style/ryan-murphy-netflix-horror.html) and addressed some of the criticism around the biggest one, Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.

Creator Ryan Murphy has broken his silence on the many controversies surrounding his biographical thriller, 'Dahmer' — read statement.

“We reached out to 20, around 20, of the victims’ families and friends trying to get input, trying to talk to people,” he said. But it was just like a night and day effort to us trying to uncover the truth of these people.” ranking of streaming originals for the week of its release, but it delivered the chart’s 10th-biggest tally ever in its 110-week history. Should we never do a movie about a tyrant?” He added that he wanted to tell Dahmer’s story because “it was the biggest thing I’ve ever seen that really sort of examines how easy it is to get away with things with the white privilege aspects.” Shirley Hughes, the mother of Tony Hughes, with whom Dahmer had a relationship before he was murdered, accused the series of dramatizing her son’s story. The series tells the story of Jeffrey Dahmer, a serial killer who horrifically murdered 17 men between the years of 1978 and 1991.

Murphy also defends Netflix's use of the LGBTQ tag on the show.

“It was a story of a gay man and, more importantly, his gay victims.” True crime stories that take the killer’s point-of-view, or at least emphasize the killer’s point-of-view, are always kind of controversial, but something about the horror of Dahmer’s crimes and the fact that he was played by Peters just multiplied the controversy for some people. Murphy says he asked Netflix why they removed the tag on his show, and says he was told that “people were upset because it was an upsetting story,” but he says that’s the point.

Though one of the biggest hits for Netflix for the entire year, drama series Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story has been courting controversy ever since it ...

I could not believe that I was getting the gift of putting it on television." The only show that sits above it on that specific chart is Stranger Things season four, with Dahmer having been watched more than Bridgerton, Ozark, Lucifer, and The Witcher. tag from 'Dahmer,' and I didn't like it and I asked why they did that and they said because people were upset because it was an upsetting story. Just because the show included gay men in pivotal roles didn't exactly make up for hte fact that they were brutally murdered as well. [Unlike when The Babadook accidentally made its way under the "LGBTQ" umbrella](https://comicbook.com/horror/news/the-babadook-pride-edition-blu-ray-lgbtq-shout-factory/), the streaming service actively promoted Dahmer as being a queer story, adding that to its categoriy tags that also included "psychological," "vintage crime," and "horror." [Netflix](/category/netflix/) for the entire year, drama series Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story [has been courting controversy ever since it premiered](https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/netflix-dahmer-series-top-tv-show-viewers-making-them-sick/).