Netflix removes LGBTQ tag from Dahmer—Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story after condemnation

“This is not the representation we’re looking for," one user says about the Ryan Murphy series

By Gabrielle Sanchez  |  September 29, 2022 | 2:20pm
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Netflix removes LGBTQ tag from Dahmer—Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story after condemnation
Evan Peters as Jeffrey Dahmer Image: Netflix

As controversy continues to surround Netflix’s Dahmer—Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, the streamer has removed the LGBTQ tag from the series about the gruesome (albeit homosexual) serial killer—played by Evan Peters.

The LGBTQ tag is typically used by streaming sites to uplift heartwarming stories from the marginalized community (such as Sex Education and Heartstopper), not to link them to one of the most notorious serial killers in America who famously targeted queer people of color. Other tags attached to The Jeffrey Dahmer Story include “ominous,” “psychological,” “horror,” and “dark.”

“Netflix, I implore you to please reconsider having Dahmer with the LGBTQ tag, especially as one of its tags right when you open the app,” one subscriber wrote on Twitter.

It only took two days for Netflix to silently remove the bemoaned tag, with the streamer declining multiple comment requests from Variety.

This is far from the first time since its recent premiere that the series has been the subject of critique. Monster has re-sparked conversations concerning the exploitative nature of the true crime genre and how it capitalizes on the pain and ongoing suffering of others for the benefit of morbid strangers, often without consulting the victim’s families.

In an open letter written for Insider, Rita Isbell, the sister of Dahmer’s victim Errol Lindsey, writes about this constant exploitation by production companies such as Netflix, who regularly revive the murders of beloved family members, much to the sting of those survived by them.

“The victims have children and grandchildren. If the show benefited them in some way, it wouldn’t feel so harsh and careless,” Isbell writes. “It’s sad that they’re just making money off of this tragedy. That’s just greed.”

Unfortunately, it’s greed that sells, as the series quickly had one of the most successful premieres in Netflix history.

 
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