Netflix removes ‘Dahmer’ LGBTQ tag after user backlash
(The Hill) — Netflix removed the LGBTQ tag from its new true crime show “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” after receiving backlash over the categorization.
The Netflix show about Jeffrey Dahmer, a gay man who murdered 17 men from 1978 to 1991, is no longer filed under the tag on the streaming service.
The genres and tags for “Dahmer,” which was released on Sept. 21, now include “Crime TV Shows,” “Social Issue TV Dramas,” and “TV Horror,” as well as “ominous” and “dark.”
The LGBTQ tag is generally applied to educational media and more positive topics for the LGBTQ+ community, such as “Sex Education” and “Heartstopper.”
The move to include “Monster” in the category drew backlash across social media, with users pointing out the brutality of Dahmer’s murders included the rape, dismemberment and cannibalism of his male victims.
“Slapping the LGBTQ tag on Dahmer like ‘Looking for LGBTQ content??'” one user wrote. “Well boy do we have the show for you! Where every episode another LGBTQ person gets massacred & eaten! It’s like saying ‘Schindler’s List’ is a family flick for Jewish people.”
One user noted LGBTQ was the main tag on the show when the app opened to preview new series.
“Dahmer” is from popular television writer and director Ryan Murphy, who worked on popular shows including “Glee” and “American Horror Story.”
Netflix plans to release another show about Dahmer next month, a docu-series called “Conversation with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes.”