Netflix’s Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story has prompted a divisive response from TikTok users, as users are being criticised for romanticizing Evan Peter’s portrayal of the serial killer.
Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story was released on Netflix on September 21, reuniting American Horror Story collaborators Ryan Murphy and Evan Peters. The limited series depicts the behavior and murders of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, until his eventual incarceration.
The show has already received a mixed response critically due to its bleak content, but now, TikTok users are recontextualizing scenes from the show for viral videos.
As a result, TikToker’s are engaging in a debate about whether it is appropriate to make content out of Dahmer’s crimes.
Netflix’s Jeffrey Dahmer show causes debate among TikTokers
Viewers of Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer story are sympathising with Dahmer’s actions, as Twitter user @liliandaisies has called out several TikTok accounts for their perspective of the serial killer.
“Hundreds of people are saying that they feel sorry for Jeffrey Dahmer,” they said.
As documented by screenshots, they added that TikTok users “would write letters to him if he was alive and that he didn’t hurt his victims ‘that much’.”
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hundreds of people are saying that they feel sorry for jeffrey dahmer, that they would write letters to him if he was alive and that he didn’t hurt his victims “that much” pic.twitter.com/i8swXX4lVn
— lilian (@liliandaisies) September 27, 2022
One video in question bares the caption ‘Why do I feel sorry Jeffrey Dahmer?’ while some comments read “Jeff was a good man and that’s why he gave the men quick deaths, because he didn’t want to hurt them.”
people are making romance tiktok edits about a serial killer and his victim. they didn’t “go from people you know to people you don’t”, this is about a murderer and a man he killed. my heart goes out to the families of jeffrey dahmer’s victims pic.twitter.com/aoxV5xQbZC
— lilian (@liliandaisies) September 24, 2022
Lilian also shared an edit made by TikToker @coursettie, which specifically focuses on the relationship between Dahmer and victim Tony Hughes, attempting to depict it in a positive light. “People are making romance TikTok edits about a serial killer and his victim.
They didn’t ‘go from people you know to people you don’t’, this is about a murderer and a man he killed. My heart goes out to the families of Jeffrey Dahmer’s victims,” said Lilian. Others have shared their agreement with Lilian’s comments, comparing the situation to that of Netflix’s popular serial killer drama YOU.
“I literally blocked a guy whom I knew IRL because he sympathized with the killer in ‘You’…They are sensationalizing and romanticizing psychopathic behavior” responded writer Jaylan Salah.
YOU focuses on the life of a killer who uses several identities to evade capture, while attempting to find romance.