Netflix’s mini series looking into the life of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer and his victims has been a hot topic of discussion since its release last month.
While one of the episodes has been hailed as worthy of an award, the show’s co-creator has responded to some of the backlash it’s faced over the portrayal of the evil murderer.
Dahmer murdered 17 young men and boys between 1978 and 1991. Shockingly, many of the killings also involved cannibalism, necrophilia and preserving body parts, which earned Dahmer the nickname of Milwaukee Cannibal.
In 1994, while serving 16 consecutive life sentences, Dahmer was bludgeoned to death by a fellow inmate.
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Since the launch of Dahmer Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, the killer’s horrific crimes have been brought back into the spotlight.
Actor Evan Peters took on the role of Dahmer in the series, which uses many flashbacks or scenes with the victims’ surviving family members to humanise their lives.
But the show has faced some criticism by viewers who say that the series is 'sympathetic' to the killer.
Hitting back at the claims, the show’s co-creator, Ian Brennan told Page Six that he didn’t think this was the case 'at all'.
He said: “I think we show a human being. He’s monstrously human and he’s monstrously monstrous and that’s what we wanted to sort of unpack.
“We tried to show an objective portrait as possible. We did our homework.”
But many social media users didn’t agree.
Taking to Twitter one said: “They wanted to ‘show him as a monster’. yet there’s people in my comments talking about his parents being negligent. It gives reasoning to his behaviour and there isn’t one, he’s a weirdo and nothing about the story is entertainment.”
Another wrote: “You have achieved the opposite and this does not benefit anyone.”
While another pointed out: “They just admitted they were being sympathetic when referring to him as a human being.”
But others leapt to the show’s defence.
“This is exactly why people shouldn't be mad. It's a good series not with the intention of showing sympathy for a serial killer,” said another user.
Someone else added that they 'love the show so much'.
According to the NY Post, the Netflix show is already the second-most popular Netflix show ever after the latest series of Stranger Things.
And Brennan said he’s amazed at how successful the show has been adding: “It’s interesting when horrific stories like that resonate with people. I think it’s a way for people to approach scary things about themselves, watch it (being) portrayed on the screen.”
Topics: Netflix, True Crime
Anna Verdon