There are several inaccuracies within the depiction of real-life events in Netflix series Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
The Netflix show broke the record for the most hours watched on the platform within the first week of release.
It tells the true story of the life of Dahmer, played by Evan Peters, and how he committed a series of horrific murders in the 70s and 80s before eventually being captured by authorities.
Monster has received mixed reviews from critics, as although Peters has received praise for his performance, the show has been accused of glamorising the crimes of Dahmer, while there are several inaccuracies that have emerged.
Anne E. Schwartz was a crime reporter in Milwaukee and helped break the story of Dahmer's crimes. She has also written two books about the events.
She says the creators of the show took "artistic license" to make it more entertaining.
“When people are watching Ryan Murphy’s Netflix series and saying ‘Oh my God this is terrible’. I want to tell them it didn’t necessarily turn out that way,” she said.
Here are two major inaccuracies, as Schwartz outlined in an interview with the Independent.
The Milwaukee police officers were not racist or homophobic
Within the show, several police officers are seen treating Jeffrey and his victims with homophobia, while towards the end of the show, families of the victims who come from an ethnic minority received threatening, racist phone calls.
“I’ve spent a lot of time with them, interviewing the people who were at the scene," she explained.
"Again this is a dramatisation, but at a time when it is not exactly easy for law enforcement to get trust and buy in from the community, it’s not a very helpful representation.”
Glenda Cleveland was not Dahmer's next-door neighbour
One of the protagonists of the series is Glenda Cleveland, Dahmer's neighbour who continually attempts to raise the alarm pointing at his crimes.
However, in real life, she didn't even live in the same building as Dahmer.
“In the first five minutes of the first episode, you have Glenda Cleveland knocking on his door. None of that ever happened,” Schwartz revealed.
“I had trouble with buy-in, because I knew that was not accurate. But people are not watching it that way, they’re watching it for entertainment.”
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