‘Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’: Actor Karen Malina White Breaks Down Portraying Shirley Hughes and ‘Her Determination to Get Justice’

The Netflix series Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story tells the harrowing reality of the serial killer who terrorized Milwaukee in the late 70s and 90s. But the series spotlighted his 17 victims, all men of color and varying ages, and their families. In an interview with Showbiz Cheatsheet, actor Karen Malina White explains portraying Shirley Hughes on the small-screen. Shirley Hughes was the mother of Anthony Hughes, an aspiring deaf model.

‘Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’ gave insight into the Hughes family before and after tragedy

While fans watched the unfolding of one of America’s most prolific serial killers, the Netflix series dived deep into the life of Anthony Hughes. The deaf African American gay male was an aspiring model who wanted to defy social expectations. Unlike some of the other victims’ stories, fans see much more of Tony. As a child, the side effects of medication rendered him deaf. Despite this, Tony grew up in a loving home with his sisters and mother, Shirley Hughes, who embraced him and learned ASL.

According to the series, Tony’s mother guided and supported him his entire life. When moving away from home to pursue modeling, Shirley showed her hesitation but put her faith in her son’s ambition. Shirley knew better when her son did not return home as promised and reported it to the authorities. The series depicted Shirley putting up fliers and seeking information to find her son.

Her determination as a mother led her to hold rallies and get-togethers in the ASL community. After learning the truth about her son’s death, Shirley held herself up in the face of evil. The series depicted that she sought justice against fans who fetishized Dahmer.

Actor Karen Malina White portrayed Shirley Hughes in the series seamlessly. Despite not being a mother, White understood the heartwrenching pain Shirley experienced and her determination to seek justice.

Karen Malina White studied Shirley Hughes through the public trials

The Netflix series mimics the real-life people involved in the Dahmer case, the victims, and their families. Audiences were stunned to see the cast portray the public court testimonies of Shirley Hughes, Errol Lindsey’s sister, and the family of Konerak Sinthasomphone. When discussing how White prepared for the role of Shirley Hughes, the actor admits she was never able to speak with her.

“I just went all over the Internet to get what I could. Certainly, the entire trial was on the Internet. So a lot of that was very available to me. I could not find anything about her. I didn’t even know until recently that she was still living. I couldn’t find anything,” explained White. The use of public articles of that time also helped. “I was able to read, and certainly, the writers did their due diligence. And, you know, a lot of it was in the script about who she was and how deep her faith was,” said the actor.

Working on portraying Shirley Hughes, White expressed the common fear anyone would have at the possibility or reality of losing a child. “I’m not a parent, but I know that that’s one of a parent’s worst nightmares is to have to bury a child. And so being able to just really show her strength and her determination to get justice, to really be able to tell her story and to show her strength and her love and her endurance was really, really an honor to do that as well,” said White.

Has Shirley Hughes responded to ‘Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’?

For the cast of the Netflix series and Karen Malina White, the purpose of the series was to explore and tell the heartbreaking stories of Dahmer’s victims. Audiences were undoubtedly angered by the depiction of brutality toward the male victims of color. The pain the victims’ families were forced to endure was tear-jerking. But the Netflix series faced controversy for not informing the families of its creation.

Since its debut, Errol Lindsey’s sister has spoken out against Netflix for using her brother’s story. Others chastise the series for using too much creative license to warp details. It is only recently that Shirley Hughes has broken her silence. According to The Guardian, Hughes condemned the Netflix series, “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.”

While there have been multiple works based on Dahmer, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story hit a different nerve that elicited backlash. Despite this, the cast and White saw the series as a way to honor the victims living their lives before falling prey to a great evil.

Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is available on Netflix.