Ryan Murphy Was Irritated by Netflix’s Decision to Pull LGBTQ Tag from ‘Dahmer’: “I Didn’t Like It And I Asked Why They Did That”

After Netflix responded to internet criticism and removed the LGBTQ tag from Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, creator Ryan Murphy was not pleased. The prolific TV writer, whose recent miniseries tells the story of Jeffrey Dahmer through the perspective of the serial killer’s victims, has caused plenty of controversy since it premiered in September, but Ryan is standing by his work.

One such hiccup for Dahmer happened early on, when Netflix removed the LGBTQ tag from the show after outrage. As reported by Decider’s Kayla Cobb in late September, the streamer took away the tag after complaints from fans. TikTok user Lizthelezbo said at the time, “I mean, I know it’s technically true, but this is not the representation we’re looking for.”

While speaking to The New York Times for a profile published Saturday (Oct. 29), Murphy revealed his reaction to Netflix pulling the LBGTQ tag from his show. Murphy, who is gay, told The Times he was upset by the decision.

“The rule of my career has been: The more specific you are, the more universal you can become,” he said. “I also don’t think that all gay stories have to be happy stories.”

Murphy continued, “There was a moment on Netflix where they removed the L.G.B.T.Q. tag from Dahmer, and I didn’t like it and I asked why they did that and they said because people were upset because it was an upsetting story. I was, like, ‘Well, yeah.’ But it was a story of a gay man and more importantly, his gay victims.”

Murphy also pointed to a scene in Dahmer he is particularly proud of, citing a moment in Episode 6 in which Tony Hughes and his friends talk about dating using ASL. He explained, “There’s a five-minute scene of three gay deaf men at a pizza parlor talking in sign language about dating, gay life and how hard is it for them.”

While Murphy told The Times,  “I could not believe that I was getting the gift of putting it on television,” Hughes’ mother Shirley was not honored by Murphy’s depiction of her late son, who was murdered by Dahmer in 1991.

Shirley slammed Netflix and Dahmer in an interview with The Guardian last month, telling the outlet her son’s story was not accurately told on the show.

“I don’t see how they can do that,” she said, “I don’t see how they can use our names and put stuff out like that out there.”

All episodes of Dahmer are now streaming on Netflix.