Ariana Grande faces criticism from victim's relatives after revealing Jeffrey Dahmer as her desired dinner companion
Barbara Hughes, the sister of Tony Hughes—a victim of infamous serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer—believes that Ariana Grande should apologise for her comments about Dahmer, which she sees as glamorising and insensitive to the victims' families.
Grande's remarks, made in a podcast, referred to Dahmer as her "dream dinner date," a comment that the family of Tony Hughes found deeply distressing given Dahmer's horrific crimes. Tony Hughes, who is deaf and mute, and his family publicly criticised Grande for what they saw as a trivialisation of a brutal serial killer who caused immense suffering.
The public and other celebrities had mixed responses to Grande's comments. Some viewed them as disrespectful to victims and their families, while others tried to understand them in the context of Grande's earlier fascination with true crime. However, many agreed that public figures should be more cautious when discussing perpetrators of violent crimes.
The controversy sparked a wider conversation about the impact of celebrity comments related to notorious criminals and the pain it can cause survivors and families of victims.
Meanwhile, Ryan Murphy, the creator of the Netflix series Dahmer-Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, also faced backlash for his work on the series. Some netizens criticised Murphy for his history of engaging in projects that are very rooted in real life and taken from very real serial killers.
Others were particularly troubled by the fact that the family of Dahmer's victims were not consulted for the Netflix series. Murphy defended his project by stating that extensive research was conducted and efforts were made to contact the victims' families and friends, though they received no responses.
The netizen's comments also imply a belief that the families of victims should be consulted when creating media based on real-life events, particularly those involving violent crimes. The concern about potential exploitation and fetishization in the portrayal of real-life serial killers in media was also raised.
One user criticised Murphy for his history of engaging in exploitative and fetishizing representations of queer people of color.
Shirley Hughes, Tony Hughes' mother, found Grande's laughter during the podcast about her fascination with Dahmer particularly distressing. Barbara Hughes echoed similar sentiments and expressed concern that Grande's comments trivialise Dahmer's heinous acts.
The netizen was also troubled by the fact that many of Ryan Murphy's horror shows are based on real-life serial killers. They found it icky to think about the number of horror shows Murphy has done, even his "fictional" ones being very rooted in real life.
As of now, no detailed or official celebrity responses to the controversy have been highlighted in the available search results. However, the backlash from victim families and fans has been significant.
[1] Source: Variety, Entertainment Weekly, and The Guardian.
Ariana Grande's podcast remarks, labeling Jeffrey Dahmer as her "dream dinner date," sparked a debate within pop-culture circles, as some viewed them as insensitive to the victims' families. Meanwhile, the entertainment industry's approach to social-media discourse about notorious criminals, particularly Ryan Murphy's Netflix series, has come under scrutiny for its potential exploitation and fetishization.
