Whoopi Goldberg has voiced her disapproval of the new true crime series on Netflix, titled Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story after it was revealed that the families of the victims of the notorious serial killer were not informed about the series.
Since it was made available to stream on September 22nd, the series, which began on September 22nd and chronicles Dahmer’s killing spree in Milwaukee, has been an enormous success with viewers all over the world.
Dahmer was a real-life serial killer who was found guilty of the murder of 15 men and boys between the years 1978 and 1991. Evan Peters portrays Dahmer in this drama. In the end, in February of 1992, he was given 15 separate sentences of life without parole. In just the second year of his sentence, Dahmer was brutally murdered by a cellmate who beat him to death.
At least 17 people were killed by him, the majority of whom were young gay Black men. He lured them back to his apartment with the promise of money in exchange for nude photographs of themselves, and then he murdered them.
The so-called Milwaukee Monster then drugged and strangled the victims before frequently cutting their bodies into pieces and occasionally consuming some of the remains of the victims it had killed.
On “The View,” Goldberg, who is 66 years old, criticized the incredibly successful series that was created in collaboration by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan. She emphasized the fact that many of the victims’ loved ones are still alive today and are likely to be traumatized by the graphic scenes that are depicted in the drama.
The opinionated television personality stated: “Ryan [Murphy] is an amazing artist. If that were my family, I’d be enraged.
“Because it is being killed over and watching your child get [killed], and then you have to listen to how it went and all this other stuff that, as a person who’s lost someone like that, it’s just – you can’t imagine.”
Goldberg continued: “Over and over and over! I think, if you’re gonna tell these stories, be aware that a lot of the people who are part of these stories are still with us.”
Her co-host Sunny Hostin, on the other hand, defended the series and suggested that it would bring attention to the young men of color whom Dahmer appeared to target.
“These communities are still marginalized, and sometimes treated the same way,” Hostin said. There were other pieces to this story that even I didn’t know.”
A number of people who are related to Dahmer’s victims have spoken out about the series. One of these people stated that the series had “retraumatized” her family.
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? https://t.co/CRQjXWAvjx
— eric. (@ericthulhu) September 22, 2022
Like recreating my cousin having an emotional breakdown in court in the face of the man who tortured and murdered her brother is WILD. WIIIIIILD.
— eric. (@ericthulhu) September 22, 2022
“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 Isbell’s) are p***ed about this show,” Eric Thulhu wrote.
“It’s retraumatizing over and over again, and for what? How many movies/shows/documentaries do we need?” he questioned.
He continued: “Like recreating my cousin having an emotional breakdown in court in the face of the man who tortured and murdered her brother is WILD. WIIIIIILD.”
Ok, I did not expect that tweet to get this much attention. To answer the main question, no, they don’t notify families when they do this. It’s all public record, so they don’t have to notify (or pay!) anyone. My family found out when everyone else did.
— eric. (@ericthulhu) September 23, 2022
So when they say they’re doing this “with respect to the victims” or “honoring the dignity of the families”, no one contacts them. My cousins wake up every few months at this point with a bunch of calls and messages and they know there’s another Dahmer show. It’s cruel.
— eric. (@ericthulhu) September 23, 2022
According to Lindsey’s cousin, who went on to say that the network didn’t even “notify” the family of the creation of the television show, because “it’s all public record, so they don’t have to notify (or pay!) anyone,” the information regarding the creation of the television show is already available.
“So when they say they’re doing this ‘with respect to the victims’ or ‘honoring the dignity of the families’, no one contacts them,” he said, adding: “My cousins wake up every few months…with a bunch of calls and messages and they know there’s another Dahmer show. It’s cruel.”
