Netflix's latest true crime series, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, has become rather controversial, with many viewers criticizing the miniseries for using the graphic and violent depiction of the notorious cannibalistic serial killer for its gain.
Now, it seems appears that some people are willing to boycott songs that include lyrics alluding to Dahmer's crimes, with Kesha's music being the latest target.
Fans have taken issue with several lines in her hit song, 'Cannibal,' which was released over a decade ago in 2010.
In the track - written by Kesha, as well as songwriters Pebe Sebert, Joshua Coleman and Mathieu Jomphe - the then-23-year-old can be heard singing:
"Your little heart goes pitter-patter, I want your liver on a platter.
"Be too sweet and you'll be a goner, yeah, I'll pull a Jeffrey Dahmer.
"I eat boys up, breakfast and lunch, then when I'm thirsty, I drink their blood.
"Carnivore, animal, I am a cannibal. I eat boys up, you better run."
Listeners, evidently fuelled by the online vitriol the Netflix series has been receiving, have decided to stop listening to the song, deeming it "insensitive."
Of course, Kesha soon became a trending topic on Twitter, a social media platform known for being a hotbed of drama.
"Kind of insane that Kesha casually had a line in her song about how she'd pull a Jeffrey Dahmer and younger me just did not know anything or bother to look up that name [sic]," someone wrote.
One user wrote that they would be deleting Kesha's song, commenting: "I just learned who Jeffrey Dahmer is and I knew his name was familiar because Kesha put his name in her lyrics for her song 'Cannibal'. I need to delete that song now. Why the heck do we give fandom to these sickos?!
"Of course Netflix makes a series about it. Murders make the [money]."
Though some users appeared to side with Kesha, with one person even posted a list of almost 60 songs that mention Dahmer, writing: "You know Jeffrey Dahmer is literally one of the most referenced criminals in pop and hip hop music, right? 'Dark Horse' by Katy Perry and Juicy J also name-dropped him and that went #1 in 2014. Like… it's been so normalized for decades now that this naive tweet is funny to me [sic]."
Another user added: "KESHA'S SONG CANNIBAL WAS A TIKTOK DANCE TREND. and now people are upset because they're too stupid to know who Dahmer was then?!?! #kesha #jeffreydahmer."
Someone else added: "Not y'all being retroactively mad at Katy Perry and Kesha for having Dahmer lyrics like PLEASE FIND A PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT[sic]!!"
As mentioned, Katy Perry has also come under fire for lyrics that people are claiming are insensitive in her 2013 hit, 'Dark Horse.' In that track, featured artist Juicy J can be heard rapping: "She's a beast / I call her Karma / She eats your heart out like Jeffrey Dahmer."
Similarly, Eminem also didn't manage to escape the criticism, after fans slammed him for referring to Dahmer in three separate songs - 2009's 'Bagpipes from Baghdad' and 'Must Be The Ganja,' as well as 2013's Brainless.
The lyrics from 'Bagpipes from Baghdad' read: "I'll cut ya like Dahmer, pull a butcher knife on ya".
Dahmer's deranged antics may only just have been 'discovered' by a new generation of true crime fans, however, he has evidently been prominent in pop culture since his highly publicized arrest in 1991.
