Viewers of the hit new Netflix series, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, have been urged not to "romanticize" Jeffrey Dahmer simply because he's played by a heartthrob.
The 10-episode series, which was only just released this Wednesday (September 21), has already shocked many viewers with its gruesome and graphic portrayal of the convicted serial killer and sex offender.
Dahmer, who was killed by a fellow inmate in 1994 while serving 16 consecutive life sentences, is being portrayed by 35-year-old American Horror Story actor, Evan Peters.
The Milwaukee native was convicted of brutally murdering and dismembering 17 boys and men between 1978 and 1991. Most of his victims were Black, Latino, or Asian men - predominantly from the LGBTQ+ community, per Newsweek.
Also referred to as the Milwaukee Cannibal, Dahmer engaged in necrophilia and cannibalism, often preserving the body parts of his victims - the youngest of whom was 14-year-old Konerak Sinthasomphone.
One Twitter user wrote: "Evan Peters is a brilliant actor. Don’t let his outstanding performance let you forget that Jeffrey Dahmer was a real and evil person. Don’t romanticize him. The show is 'good' but it is not a good story and there is not a happy ending."
One user highlighted the fact that Dahmer's senseless and horrific crimes should not be overlooked - and his victims not forgotten - just because Peters is depicting him in Netflix's latest series.
Taking to Twitter, the user wrote: "#DahmerNetflix is out, let’s not romanticize Jeffrey Dahmer just because he is played by Evan Peters. Remember the victims. A tread about each victim and who they were."
Underneath the Tweet, the user added short biographies of each of Dahmer's victims - starting with Steven Hicks, who was Dahmer's first victim. The convicted killer's final victim was Joseph Bradehoft - a father of three who was looking for work in Milwaukee. He was killed by Dahmer in July, 1991.
Others on the social media platform commented their corresponding opinions, with one person writing: "It's always sad the names of the killers are remembered, and the recall of victims is hazy. The morbid, freak show of the multiple or serial killer prevents us from seeing what made victims vulnerable and what we should be looking out for; our own safety and that of others."
Though, not everyone agreed with the original tweet, especially as the series specifically focused on the victims' lives as well as Dahmer's neighbour, father, and Dahmer himself. One person wrote: "They did do good [in my opinion]!
"Evan Peters, from what I've seen, actively fought for the character to not be romanticized, and refused to do it as a POV [because] he wanted it to be more of a tribute to the victims/families than to Dahmer himself. I think they did a pretty damn good job."
Though, romanticization of serial killers is hardly anything new - in fact, fellow serial killers and sex offenders such as Ted Bundy and Richard Ramirez (AKA the 'Night Stalker') have famously attracted swarms of fangirls, per Oxygen.
The creators of the series have made efforts to be wary of the sensitivity surrounding Dahmer's victims, with Peters even saying in a recent Netflix interview: "It was so jaw-dropping that it all really happened that it felt important to be respectful to the victims, to the victims' families, to try to tell the story as authentically as we could. And you need to have certain plot points because he did do these things, but you don't need to embellish them."
