‘Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’: Errol Lindsey’s Sister Reacts to the Netflix Series: ‘That’s Just Greed’
Netflix‘s Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story has become the most streamed series on Netflix since its premiere. Evan Peters stars as the infamous serial killer who went unnoticed for years. The series takes audiences into the trauma and heartache the victims’ families faced but has received backlash because of it. Rita Isbell, the sister of Dahmer’s victim Errol Lindsey, explains seeing herself in Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story “bothered her.”
The victims’ families gave impact statements during Jeffrey Dahmer’s trial
The one rule on set for Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story was that it needed to be told through the eyes of the victims and the grief of their families. The series reenacted certain events involving the victims and families, especially regarding Dahmer’s trial. In the final episodes, Dahmer was caught, arrested, and faced the justice system for his heinous acts.
While facing a judge, the real heartache came when a representative of each family took the stand to give an impact statement. Viewers were stunned when the actors playing the real-life people were almost identical in their portrayal. To a point, it created a sense of chilling eeriness.
Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story soon faced backlash as audiences and family members showed side-by-side comparisons of the scenes and the public footage. Many felt the series was forcing the families to relive the horrifying experience.
According to Mashable, a family member of Rita Isbell commented on Twitter, “It’s retraumatizing over and over again, and for what? How many movies/shows/documentaries do we need?” Rita Isbell, the sister of Errol Lindsey, breaks her silence in a personal essay about her true thoughts on Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
Rita Isbell says Netflix never contacted her about ‘Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’
The rules and regulations about creating a crime series or documentary may baffle viewers after the backlash Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story has received. In an exclusive essay for Insider, Errol Lindsey’s sister, Rita Isbell, revisits her testimony and seeing herself portrayed in the series. Above all, Isbell reveals Netflix did not contact her and the other families.
While the events in Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer are public records, audiences raise the moral dilemma of Netflix not asking the victims’ families for approval. “I was never contacted about the show. 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,” explained Isbell.
Isbell sees the series for what it is: an opportunity to make money. In the series, audiences saw how the families tried to file lawsuits against Dahmer, his family, and those trying to profit from his story. But when it comes to the series, Isbell feels Netflix could have helped support the families if they were going to use their trauma.
“But the victims have children and grandchildren. If the show benefited them in some way, it wouldn’t feel so harsh and careless,” said Isbell. “It’s sad that they’re just making money off of this tragedy. That’s just greed.”
Rita Isbell was bothered seeing an exact replica of herself on the small-screen
Isbell’s impact statement, portrayed in the series, leaves audiences heartbroken over her emotional state facing the man that killed her brother. But Isbell explains she felt no fear, “I wasn’t scared. That’s not me at all. I never had a scared bone in my body. I believe he knew that too. And then I was angry because he wouldn’t look at me.”
There is no denying the experience was hard to stomach, but Isbell relived it when watching Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. “When I saw some of the show, it bothered me, especially when I saw myself,” said Isbell. To her surprise, actor DaShawn Barnes looked exactly like her to a T. “It brought back all the emotions I was feeling back then,” said Isbell.
While Peters explained in an interview that his goal was to “be respectful to the victims, the victims’ families, and try to tell the story as authentically as [they] could,” it did not account for the reality of the gruesome story. Isbell refused to watch the rest of the Netflix series, stating, “I don’t need to watch it. I lived it. I know exactly what happened.”
The series has faced backlash after backlash since its premiere. It also faced scrutiny over using the LGBTQ tag that Netflix has now dropped. While serial killers remain an inexplicable phenomenon, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story raises the dilemma of emotional and moral appropriateness.
