Jeffrey Dahmer victim’s mother slams Golden Globes for awarding Evan Peters: ‘It’s a shame…’

Evan Peters won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Limited Series in a Limited or Anthology Series for his performance as Jeffrey Dahmer in Netflix’s hit show Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. Based on the real-life murders of Jeffrey, the show was met with controversy upon release. Now the mother of Jeffrey’s victims has slammed the Golden Globes for honouring Evan for playing a serial killer who did not mention any of the victims as tribute in his speech. (Also read: Monster The Jeffrey Dahmer Story joins Squid Games and Stranger Things, reaches 1 billion hours of viewership on Netflix)

Created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brenning, the Netflix series had contributed to one billion hours of viewership upon its release on September 21. Dahmer also created a lot of controversy upon its release for its apparent lack of respect for the victims’ families. At the Golden Globes, when star Evan won for his portrayal of the serial killer, he expressed his gratitude to the HFPA (Hollywood Foreign Press Association) and said that even though the show was a tough one to make and watch, he sincerely wishes “some good came out of it.”

Shirley Hughes, the mother of Tony Hughes, spoke to TMZ following the win and shared her anger post the ceremony. “There’s a lot of sick people around the world. People winning acting roles from playing killers keeps the obsession going and this makes sick people thrive on the fame,” she said. Jeffrey murdered Shirley’s 31 year-old son, Tony, who was deaf, in 1991. The episode ‘Silenced’ from the show centered on how Jeffrey met Tony and lured him back to his apartment. Shirley expressed dismay over the Golden Globes and questioned the decision for awarding a performance in a show that glorified a serial killer. She also called out Evan who took the stage to accept the award but chose not to pay tribute to the serial killer’s victims and their families. She concluded, “It’s a shame that people can take our tragedy and make money. The victims never saw a cent. We go through these emotions every day.”

Shirley had spoken out about the show earlier after it released in Netflix, saying that the show was not only factually inaccurate but also how it plays with the trauma of real life tragedies and capitalizes on it. Netflix also faced severe criticism from the LGBTQ+ community for labeling the series as an LGBTQ show because its main character, the cannibalistic killer Jeffrey, was part of that community. Dahmer stars Evan as the notorious serial killer, alongside a cast that includes Richard Jenkins, Niecy Nash-Betts, Molly Ringwald and Michael Learned.