Jeffrey Dahmer Victim’s Mother Criticizes Evan Peters’ ‘Dahmer’ Golden Globes Win

Evan Peters, who portrayed American serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in the controversial Netflix series Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, won big at the 2023 Golden Globes but not everyone is happy about it.

Peters nabbed the award for Best Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Television Movie. The actor’s lauded performance in the 2022 series, however, has caused apprehension among many who feel that the series glorifies the murderer.

Multiple families of Dahmer’s victims have criticized the series since its airing. Now, Shirley Hughes – mother of Dahmer victim Tony Hughes – told TMZ what she thought of Peters’ win. She said: “People winning acting roles from playing killers keeps the obsession going.”

Hughes explained how she feels about the show and its acceptance by Hollywood (and viewers around the globe) by saying: “There’s a lot of sick people around the world. People winning acting roles from playing killers keeps the obsession going. This makes sick people thrive on the fame.”

She added: “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.”

Hughes then said she felt Peters should have referenced the victims’ families in his acceptance speech. On stage at the awards Peters said: “I want to thank everyone out there who watched this show. It was a difficult one to make, a difficult one to watch, but I sincerely hope some good came out of it.”

Between 1978 and 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer killed 17 men. The Wisconsin-based killer mostly targeted BIPOC queer males.

In addition to the families of victims, the show has faced criticism from members of the LGBTQ+ community as well as others.

Shortly after the show became one of Netflix’s biggest English-language hits, one victim’s family member described the show as a “retraumatizing” event.