Ryan Murphy has defended Netflix over backlash the streaming giant received for having a LGBTQ+ tag (which has since been removed) added to Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
The true crime drama was released on September 21 telling the story of Milwaukee serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, including his eventual arrest and the trial that followed the discovery of his gruesome crimes.
The series, created by Murphy and Ian Brennan, sees American Horror Story star Evan Peters take on the role of Dahmer, who was convicted of brutally killing 17 victims in total, all male, between the years of 1978 and 1991.
He was arrested and eventually imprisoned in 1992, before being killed during his incarceration at the age of 34.
Originally, Netflix had added the LGBTQ+ tag to the popular show, which quickly clocked over a billion hours watched, however, the tag was removed after backlash.
‘Why did @netflix think tagging their Jeffery Dahmer documentary with the “LGBT+” tag would be a good idea?’ one person posted to Twitter.
One user posted: ‘They put the new Jeffrey Dahmer movie under the LGBTQ tag and I am disgusted. IT’S NOT AN LGBTQ STORY LIKE WTF.’
However, Murphy has defended the tag, saying: ‘It’s about homophobia.
‘I have a saying: “My job as an artist is to hold up a mirror about what happened.” It’s ugly. It’s not pretty.’
He continued to Variety: ‘Do you want to look at it? If you do, watch it. If you don’t, look away, and sometimes, some of this outrage is directed at the frame of the mirror instead of the reflection.
‘I try and say, I really understand why you’re upset about the inclusion of that. I understand it, but I also disagree with it personally.’
Following the release of the series, a family member of a victim of Dahmer’s claimed their family had been ‘retraumatised’ by the programme.
A relative of Errol Lindsey, a 19-year-old man who was killed by Dahmer, and his older sister, Rita Isbell, who spoke at his trial, condemned the release of the show.
‘I’m not telling anyone what to watch, I know true crime media is huge right now, but if you’re actually curious about the victims, my family (the Isbells) are p****d about this show,’ Twitter user @ericthulu wrote on their page, who says Lindsey and Isbell are his cousins.
‘It’s retraumatising over and over again, and for what? How many movies/shows/documentaries do we need?’
Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is available to stream on Netflix now.
