It seems Netflix's controversial biographical miniseries on Jeffrey Dahmer has embellished a small detail - involving one of the series' main characters - that might just change the way viewers see the show.
The true crime show - titled Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story - centers on the disturbing life of the notorious sex offender and serial killer. Between 1978 and 1991, the Milwaukee native was accused of raping, murdering, and dismembering 17 young men and boys - the majority of whom were queer Black, Latinx, or Asian.
While the series is about Dahmer, the stories of other characters are woven throughout the 10 episodes - including those from several of Dahmer's victims, Dahmer's father, and his next-door neighbor, Glenda Cleveland.
However, in reality, Glenda Cleveland (played by Niecy Nash) never lived next door to Dahmer, rather, she lived in a building across the street. Throughout the series, viewers watch on in frustration as Cleveland tirelessly tries to alert the police to the strange goings-on in her next door neighbor's apartment.
While Cleveland lived in an adjacent building, her efforts in trying to contact authorities about Dahmer's strange behavior are completely true. In fact, the real-life Cleveland notified police after her daughters witnessed a young 14-year-old stumbling out of Dahmer's apartment building, The Tab detailed.
The youth, Konerak Sinthasomphone, was interviewed by police who subsequently handed him back to Dahmer, who claimed they were "lovers." Sinthasomphone became Dahmer's thirteenth victim. This, and Cleveland's phone call to the police, were chronicled in the series.
At one point, Dahmer is seen to gift Cleveland with an unusual "meat" sandwich as an apology for the ghastly smell emanating from their shared air vent. This part was slightly embellished, however, as the real-life Dahmer actually gifted the odd meal to someone else - a woman named Pamela Bass who lived in his building.
Bass was not in the series - but elements from hers and Cleveland's real-life interactions with Dahmer were merged together to create a fictional version of Cleveland.
Cleveland's tireless efforts to alert the police about Dahmer's strange behavior went largely unnoticed by authorities, and she was often ignored - which is true. This was significantly highlighted in the series. It has been widely regarded that Dahmer was able to engage in murderous sprees undetected due to the fact that his victims were usually those from society's marginalized groups.
This aspect of the series has been praised by many, including Rashad Robinson, the president of the nonprofit civil rights advocacy organization Color of Change. Robinson - who also worked as a consulting producer on the series - told Netflix: "This is a different story than the stories that have been told."
"Because yes, it is a story about Dahmer, but it's also a story about the victims. It is a story not just about the victims who were murdered, but about the community, about the chilling impact of not just what Jeffrey Dahmer was able to do in all the harm, but all the ways in which the police, the larger leadership in Milwaukee, the media and so many others in society were complicit," he says.
Robinson highlighted the importance of Cleveland - who died in 2010 from cardiovascular disease - in drawing attention to the incompetence of Milwaukee police, stating: "I wanted to make sure that we really enhanced the deep understanding of the systemic racism in the Milwaukee Police Department."
He adds: "We really enhance all the ways in which policing failed throughout each and every stage, the incentive structures that allowed a blond-haired, blue-eyed guy to continually kill and harm people, particularly Black and Brown people."
