Penn Badgley, actor of You, has spoken out about who he feels is to blame for TV viewers ‘falling in love’ with serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, blaming streaming behemoth Netflix.
Many admirers have complimented him for his position, despite the fact that he plays a fictitious killer and is widely considered as a swoonworthy hottie.
Last year, the platform released the real crime series Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, starring American Horror Story’s Evan Peters.
Dahmer was a serial killer and sex offender who murdered 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991 before being beaten to death in jail in 1994.
Despite criticism, the Netflix programme co-created by Ryan Murphy has received various compliments, with some suggesting that the show was’retraumatizing’ for the victims’ relatives.
In a recent interview, Gossip Girl actor Penn was asked what his message would be to those who are drawn to serial killers after watching dramatised stories about real-life personalities like Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy.
‘You need to look within,’ he said to Entertainment Tonight, gesturing towards himself.
‘Now, to be honest, with our programme, you’re supposed to fall in love with him,’ the 36-year-old stated. What about Ted Bundy? That is entirely your fault! What about Jeffrey Dahmer? That is available on Netflix. Netflix is solely responsible for this.
‘I don’t have answers at this point – I do, but they’re long. It’s weird, man.’
Penn portrays Joe Goldberg, a serial murderer and stalker who develops pathological attachments with the targets of his affections, in You.
While Joe is a fictitious character, real-life serial murderers such as Dahmer and Bundy have shattered the lives of countless people.
Following Penn’s comments about Netflix being the reason people “fell in love” with Jahmer, numerous fans thanked him for calling out the streaming site, despite the fact that it is also the home of You.
‘Ooh he said what he said and what about it?’ one person tweeted, while another wrote: ‘He gagged them’
‘Man always speaking FACTS,’ someone else said, as one TikTok user added: ‘Lmaoooooo Penn shading his bosses at Netflix AS HE SHOULD for putting dahmer out there. Like Joe is MADE UP. Bundy and Dahmer aren’t.’
‘I still don’t know how people fell in love with Dahmer after the event,’ one person stated. I was terrified when I saw it.’
Another stated that they are ‘not drawn to serial killers, I’m only attracted to YOU’.
You is available to watch on Netflix.