Netflix’s Dahmer criticized by victim’s family after Evan Peters Globe win

Netflix’s Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story has seen plenty of controversy since it release last September. And following Evan Peters’ Golden Globe win for portraying serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, it has been reignited yet again by no less than a family member of a Dahmer victim.

Shirley Hughes, the mother of Jeffrey Dahmer’s 12th victim Tony Hughes (a deaf man killed in 1991), has spoken out against the series the same week Evan Peters won his first Golden Globe, which could possibly increase viewers of the show, which has been one of Netflix’s most popular up to this point. In an interview with TMZ, she said, “There’s a lot of sick people around the world, and people winning acting roles from playing killers keeps the obsession going and this makes sick people thrive on the fame.”

Hughes also lashed out at the way victims are treated and exploited by studios, saying, “It’s a shame that people can take our tragedy and make money. The victims never saw a cent. We go through these emotions every day.”

Shirley Hughes joins at least one other family member of Jeffrey Dahmer victims in criticizing the so-called glamorization of serial killers. The cousin of the older sister of Erroll Lindsey–killed the month before Tony Hughes–took to social media the day after Dahmer premiered. In a Twitter post, they wrote, “​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?”

One of the major complaints has been the allegation that producers of Dahmer never reached out to the victims’ families. However, this has been adamantly denied by series creator Ryan Murphy, who said producers did indeed reach out but never received a response.

What do you think? Are creators of shows like Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story guilty of exploiting victims? Or are the families of victims missing the point of the projects? Let us know in the comments section below.