Family of Jeffrey Dahmer victim denounces 'cruel' Netflix series: 'Retraumatize again and again'

True crime viewers seem to have endless appetites, but true crime victims have had more than enough. Eric Perry, cousin of Jeffrey Dahmer victim Errol Lindsey, to express his discomfort with "Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story", the new Netflix series from Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan which stars Evan Peters as the infamous notorious serial killer.

I'm not telling anyone what to watch, I know true crime media is huge, but if you're really curious about the victims, my family ( the Isbells) is furious at this sight. It's retraumatizing again and again, and for what? How many movies/shows/documentaries do we need?

—Eric. (@ericthulhu)

"I'm not telling anyone what to watch, I know true crime media is huge, but if you're really curious about the victims, my family (the Isbells) are pissed off about this show" , he wrote. "To recreate my cousin in emotional crisis in court facing the man who tortured and murdered her brother is WILD."

Perry also noted that because the murders are common knowledge, the producers of real crime shows are not required to notify the families of the victims they portray. Perry says no one from "Monster" contacted his family and they found out about the show at the same time as everyone else.

"So when they say they're doing this 'respecting the victims' or 'honouring the dignity of the families', no one contacts them," he wrote. "My cousins ​​wake up every few months at this point with a bunch of calls and texts and they know there's another Dahmer show. It's cruel."

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The show's production team defended the project, saying the goal was never to humanize Dahmer, but rather to show the perspective of victims and explain how race and sexuality influenced the murders.

"We had a rule from Ryan [Murphy], that it would never be said from Dahmer's point of view", Peters. "It's called 'The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,' but it's not just him and his backstory: it's the repercussions, it's the way society and our system have failed to arresting him repeatedly because of racism, homophobia. It's just a tragic story."

Still, Perry doesn't think those efforts were enough to justify the show's existence.

"It's traumatizing again and again, and for what?" he wrote. "How many movies/shows/documentaries do we need?

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