The release of Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story has been met with controversy as much as it has positive reception. One such element of controversy stems from the fact Dahmer was categorized under Netflix’s LGBTQ tag.
Now, showrunner Ryan Murphy has revealed his thoughts on the LGBTQ tag being attached to Dahmer. As it turns out, he completely supports it despite the series not being considered “uplifting” queer content. This is quite interesting, considering that Netflix even removed the LGBTQ tag following the backlash.
He explained as much while speaking with Variety regarding the new series:
“I think that it got the tag, one, because of my involvement. I’m a gay man, so most of my stories deal with some sort of LGBTQ thing and I do that selfishly; when I was growing up, I had nothing [to look to],” Murphy began.
“My mission statement has been to talk about those stories and those characters and unearth buried history.”
He further explained why he believes LGBTQ content shouldn’t always be “uplifting” as others hope to see.
“Many people in the community want to uplift, I understand that. It’s about homophobia. I have a saying: ‘My job as an artist is to hold up a mirror about what happened.’ It’s ugly. It’s not pretty. Do you want to look at it? If you do, watch it. If you don’t, look away, and sometimes, some of this outrage is directed at the frame of the mirror instead of the reflection.”
Though he understands those that disagree (and, as such, he disagrees with them.)
“I try and say, I really understand why you’re upset about the inclusion of that. I understand it, but I also disagree with it personally,” Murphy concluded.
It’s definitely interesting getting to see Ryan Murphy’s thoughts on the LGBTQ tag controversy. Of course, as mentioned above, Netflix has still removed the tag as of this writing.
American Horror Story actor Evan Peters stars in the first season of Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story as the titular Jeffrey Dahmer. The cast of Dahmer also includes Niecy Nash, Penelope Ann Miller, Shaun J. Brown, Colin Ford, and Richard Jenkins.
Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for additional updates on Ryan Murphy’s series Monster as we have them. In the meantime, the first season is currently available to stream on Netflix.