Netflix's Dahmer: Why is victim Tony Hughes' mother Shirley lashing out at Evan Peters' show?

Netflix's Dahmer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story has created shockwaves worldwide with its brilliant depiction of the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, who killed over 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991. He was also accused of allegedly performing heinous acts with their dead bodies, encompassing everything from necrophilia to cannibalism.

Although the series has garnered global acclaim and has become Netflix's second-highest streamed English-language series (only behind the Duffer brothers' Stranger Things season 4), not everyone is happy about how the creators of the show dealt with certain subject matter depicted in the series.

Among them is Shirley Hughes, whose son, Tony Hughes, was murdered by Jeffrey Dahmer in May 1991. She expressed her disappointment and anger at the show's inaccurate portrayal of her son's murder. She also claimed that "It didn't happen like that." Family members of another victim also stepped up to point out the show's inaccuracies.

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"I don't see how they can do that,"- Shirley Hughes on her son's depiction in Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story

Shirley Hughes lost her son to the notorious serial killer in 1991, when Dahmer was actively hunting out men and boys from nightclubs and bars. Shirley was allegedly unhappy with the depiction of her son's murder and claimed that it was completely inaccurate. Speaking to The Guardian, she said:

"It didn't happen like that...I don't see how they can do that,...I don't see how they can use our names and put stuff out like that out there."

The murder of Tony Hughes was depicted in detail in the sixth episode of the Netflix series. He was shown meeting Dahmer at a bar and forming a relationship with him. Tony was 31 years old at the time. In the show, actor Rodney Burford played the role of Tony, and his mother was also depicted in the sixth episode.

Tony Hughes and Jeffrey Dahmer as seen in the series (Image via Netflix)

Rita Isbell, whose 19-year-old brother Errol Lindsey was also a victim of the infamous serial killer in the same year, aimed similar criticism at the show. Speaking to Insider, Rita said:

"I feel like Netflix should've asked if we mind or how we felt about making it. They didn't ask me anything. They just did it,...But I'm not money hungry, and that's what this show is about, Netflix trying to get paid."

She also accused Netflix of making money out of other people's tragedies. She said:

"It's sad that they're just making money off of this tragedy,...That's just greed"

Eric Perry, Rita and Errol's cousin, also stepped up to talk about the issue. In a tweet, he said:

"I'm not telling anyone what to watch, I know true crime media is huge rn, 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 victims' families are antagonized by the fact that the network did not seek proper permission before dramatically representing them on the show.

Jeffrey Dahmer's story continues to gather momentum on the network and could soon surpass every TV show that came before it. All the episodes of the show are now streaming on Netflix.

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