Following an outcry from viewers, Netflix has removed the LGBTQ tag from the limited true-crime series Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
The series, which features Evan Peters as the titular serial killer and revisits the period between the ‘70s and ‘90s when Jeffrey Dahmer killed 17 people, debuted on the streaming service on Sept. 21. Prior to the tag being formally withdrawn on Friday, Sept. 23, it had been tagged as LGBTQ for at least two days, according to Variety.
The show’s inclusion in the LGBTQ content category sparked debate on social media, with many viewers criticizing Netflix for its actions.
Dahmer was gay, as were a number of his victims, but Netflix normally utilizes the LGBTQ designation for shows like Heartstopper and Sex Education that feature LGBTQ characters and subject matter in a positive way.
On TikTok, one user said it’s “technically true” to label the series “LGBTQ,” given that Dahmer was gay, “but this is not the representation we’re looking for.”
To aid the streaming service’s search algorithm, Netflix groups all of its movies and television shows into categories. For instance, Dahmer’s early descriptions included the words “LGBTQ” as well as “ominous,” “psychological,” “horror,” “vintage crime” and “dark.”
Dahmer has courted controversy frequently since its release, and the tag removal is by no means the only one. A victim’s survivor has also voiced her criticism of the series. Rita Isbell, the sister of Errol Lindsey, who was killed by Dahmer in 1991, stated in an essay for Insider that “it bothered me” to watch her victim impact statement from the murderer’s 1992 trial recreated in the program.
“I could even understand it if they gave some of the money to the victims’ children… The victims have children and grandchildren,” Isbell wrote. “If the show benefited them in some way, it wouldn’t feel so harsh and careless. It’s sad that they’re just making money off of this tragedy. That’s just greed.”
Dahmer was the most watched Netflix series during the week of September 19–25, with the streamer reporting viewers watched more than 196 million hours globally during the first week of its release.