In recent times, Netflix has struck gold with the true crime genre with the success of titles such as Inventing Ana, and The Tinder Swindler, however, in its effort to keep up with the large appetite of its audience for true-crime stories, Netflix seemed to have missed the target with its latest release, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. While the limited series was released to instant popularity, it was quickly trailed by a series of unending controversies and at this rate, it has officially become one of the streamer's most controversial shows.
Adding to varied forms of controversy plaguing the show, one of its crew members, Kim Alsup who worked on set as a production assistant has now divulged details of the terrible experience she had during the production of the show. In a tweet, Alsup revealed that she was "1 of 2 Black people on the crew," and experienced non-verbal racial discrimination from her white colleagues. Alsup further explains that while there were just two Black crew members, her colleagues did not see the need to learn their names and kept mistaking their identities. “We both had braids, she was dark skin and 5’10. I’m 5’5. Working on this took everything I had as I was treated horribly. I look at the Black female lead differently now too,” Alsup wrote in a quoted tweet of the show's trailer.
Alsup's tweet attracted the attention of the Los Angeles Times who subsequently invited her for an interview where she elaborated on her unpleasant set experience. “It was one of the worst shows that I’ve ever worked on,” she told LA Times. “I was always being called someone else’s name, the only other Black girl who looked nothing like me, and I learned the names for 300 background extras.” Because of her experience, Alsup has decided against watching the show saying that she "feels like it’s going to bring back too many memories of working on it.” She went on to add “I don’t want to have these PTSD types of situations. The trailer itself gave me PTSD, which is why I ended up writing that tweet and I didn’t think that anybody was going to read.”
Alsup joins a growing list of many who are angered at the show. Monster premiered on Netflix on November 23, and shortly came a wave of disapproving remarks led by TV critics and later the family members of the victims. Eric Perry, a relative of one of Dahmer's 17 victims Errol Lindsey has criticized the show, accusing Netflix of exploiting tragic events for profit, in a viral tweet, Perry describes how the show upsets her family as they feel re-traumatized by the incident that killed their brother. The victim's sister, Rita Isbell (portrayed in the show by DaShawn Barnes) has also slammed Netflix for not reaching out to the family of the victims for their opinion on if they wanted the show made.
The show also came under fire from the LGBTQ community after Netflix categorized it under the LGBTQ tag on its platform, a move that clearly surprised its users who were upset that Netflix chose to label a show about the gruesome murder of queer men as an "LGBTQ Show" - the tag is often used for lighthearted shows such as Heartstopper and Sex Education, that are actually focused on core queer themes. After a viral outrage on TikTok, Netflix quietly removed the tag without issuing an official statement.
Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is the third attempt to dramatize the horrific killings of Jeffrey Dahmer aka Milwaukee Cannibal within the past two decades. The series is created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan and stars American Horror Story veteran Evan Peters in the titular role. Directors for the 10-episode series include Carl Franklin, Paris Barclay, and Janet Mock.