The serial killer biopic proved controversial for more than one reason

It was one of the biggest shows of 2022, although not without its problems.

'Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story', the Netflix biopic series of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, starred Evan Peters in the title role and was created by Ryan Murphy of 'American Horror Story' fame.

The pair took part in an interview with Variety where they discussed the show, the lengths that Peters went to to portray the killer - who killed and dismembered 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991 - and the controversy surrounding several aspects of it.

One of them related to the families of Dahmer's victims, who claimed that they were not contacted or consulted about the series. Back in October, Murphy said that he had attempted to make contact with the families but had not heard back from them. In the new interview, he said "I was never interested in Jeffrey Dahmer, the monster. I was interested in what made him. I think that the fact that all of the characters in this are seen as true humans makes some people uncomfortable. I understand that and I try not to have an opinion on that. We always tried to center everything on the victims.” 

Another major sticking point was the fact that the series was initially categorised under the 'LGBTQ+' banner on Netflix, which initiated a backlash. The tag was later removed.

"I think that it got the tag, one, because of my involvement," said Murphy. "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]. My mission statement has been to talk about those stories and those characters and unearth buried history.” 

He added that he understood people's grievances, but didn't agree with it. "It’s about homophobia,” he said. “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. 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."

'Monster' has proven to be Murphy's biggest hit to date, and has since been renewed for a second and third season - but Peters will probably not be part of it. “I’m going to take a little break from darker roles and explore the light,” said the actor. “It would be interesting to me to play something that is a little closer to home, a little more mundane and to explore the details of those kinds of experience."

Read the full interview here.