Netflix Drops LGBTQ Label From 'Dahmer' Series Amidst Criticism From Victim's Families

Streaming giant Netflixhas removed the LGBTQ tag from the true-crime series "Dahmer- Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story," after intense backlash from viewers on social media. The streaming platform had initially tagged the series with the LGBTQ tag, vintage crime tag, horror tag, and several others.

The major criticism was that the LGBTQ community didn't want such negative representation, especially as Netflix typically uses the tag for more positive content, such as "Heartstopper" and "Sex Education." The series has also been heavily criticized by the families of Dahmer's victims, including Rita Isbell and Eric Thulhu.

The documentary is currently the most popular series on Netflix in many countries and has amassed over 190 million hours of viewing since it premiered. However, reviews have not been as positive, with one critic calling it "predictable" and "a grim, sepia-toned slog."

Read on to find out more.

Netflix took off the LGBTQ tag from the Dahmer documentary series after the intense backlash from viewers on social media. One tweet addressing the use of the tag read, "Anyone else thinks it's pretty gross of Netflix to list Dahmer under LGBTQ, especially when the True Crime tag would have worked?"

Another viewer tweeted, "Hi Netflix, I implore you to please reconsider having Dahmer with the LGBTQ tag, especially as one of its tags right when you open the app." In the comment section of both tweets, many other viewers agreed with the sentiment, while some disagreed.

The topic also arose on TikTok after a viral video of a viewer stating that the true-crime series is "not the representation we're looking for." Shortly after the tweets and video gained popularity, Netflix removed the tag. However, the streaming giant is yet to make any statements on the removal.

All films and television series on the Netflix platform are sorted into categories and given tags that work with the search algorithm. These tags help viewers find specific content easily, and the algorithm recommends similar content subsequently.

"Dahmer-Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story" initially had the LGBTQ tag, as well as the ominous, horror, dark, psychological, and vintage crime tags. Dahmer was a gay man, as were many of his victims, which is likely why Netflix used the tag in the first place.

However, the platform typically uses the LGBTQ tag for movies and series with more positive LGBTQ content, and the Dahmer documentary is not a story the community wants to identify with. Some popular, well-rounded titles with the tag include "Young Royals," "Heartstopper," and "Sex Education."

The series has also been at the receiving end of intense criticism from Dahmer's victims' families. Rita Isbell, the sister of Errol Lindsey, one of Dahmer's victims, recently wrote an essay for Insider.

In the essay, Isbell said it greatly bothered her to see the platform recreate her victim impact statement from Dahmer's famous 1992 trial. She wrote, "I could even understand it if they gave some of the money to the victims' children.… The victims have children and grandchildren."

Isbell's essay continued, "If the show benefited them in some way, it wouldn't feel so harsh and careless. It's sad that they're just making money off of this tragedy. That's just greed."

Another relative, Eric Thulhu, tweeted, "I’m not telling anyone what to watch, I know true crime media is huge [right now], but if you’re actually curious about the victims, my family (the Isbell’s) are pissed about this show. It’s retraumatizing over and over again, and for what? How many movies/shows/documentaries do we need?"

The Dahmer documentary is currently one of the most popular series on Netflix. The streamer revealed that its subscribers worldwide had spent over 190 million hours watching the series since it premiered. It now has the most watched debut since the "Stranger Things" season 4 debut.

Despite the immense viewership, reviews for the series have been less positive. A Variety review by TV critic Caroline Framke criticized the show for being too "predictable." She also wrote, "It's a grim, sepia-toned slog that rarely justifies its own existence."