Netflix Removes LGBTQ from ‘Dahmer’ Series After Viewers Protest
Some subscribers called out the streamer for using the label LGBTQ on the true crime limited series.
The tag was one of several categories used to categorize the limited series about the serial killer from Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, along with labels like “dark,” “horror” and “vintage crime.”
Gay Directors, Gay Films? By Emanuel Levy (Columbia University Press, August 2015).
Viewers raised objections online: “Anyone else think it’s pretty gross of Netflix to list Dahmer under LGBTQ, especially when the True Crime tag would have worked?” read one representative tweet.
A well viewed TikTok video expressed a similar sentiment, noting that the show is “not the representation we’re looking for.” Netflix subsequently removed the category tag.
Dahmer was gay, as were a number of his victims, but Netflix typically uses the LGBTQ tag for titles that reflect more rounded experiences in the LGBTQ community, among them Uncoupled, Sex Education and Heartstopper.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Monster was listed under “crime,” “ominous,” “psychological” and “horror.”
“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–Monster was Netflix’s most popular series for the week of September 19-25 (it debuted on September 21).
The streamer said its subscribers worldwide spent more than 196 million hours watching the show during its premiere week.
