Niecy Nash has been a part of more than 100 productions, but it wasn’t until this stage of her career that she encountered her most difficult role.
The actress’ latest gig saw her portray Glenda Cleveland, convicted murderer Jeffrey Dahmer’s neighbor, in Netflix’s “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.” Over the span of 10 episodes, the series tells the story of how Dahmer killed 17 boys and men and managed to evade the police until his capture in 1991.
Nash was asked by a fan how she managed to film the dark, tragic project. In a TikTok video, she said her loved ones and time spent filming for “Reno 911!” helped her through. “My love JB [Jessica Betts] was my rock,” said Nash. “I was also filming Reno [911!] at the same time. My daughter Dia is funny and was a bright light who brought me joy on set & my girl Cardi B!”
On Instagram, Nash wrote, “Dahmer was my most challenging job to date…. Had to lean into my joy HARD during the filming process.” Her fans applauded her performance. One person wrote, “You were AMAZING in that movie! You hear me???!! A freakin mazing! baby girl too!” And a second commented, “You are awesome I was wondering the same thing how did you do it!!!” But the series has also been on the receiving end of flak.
Several victims’ family members have expressed similar outrage and disappointment in the series, some of whom said it was retraumatizing. “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,” Rita Isbell, sister of Dahmer’s victim, Errol Lindsey, told Insider. In the series, Isbell’s emotional delivery of her victim impact statement is reenacted.
Across social media, people also condemned the show’s creator, Ryan Murphy, and Netflix.
“Reminder Jeffrey Dahmer was a racist, a pdfile, a serial killer and cannibalist. The show was made against the families pleas, and Netflix & Ryan Murphy profited GREATLY off reenacting the trauma those victims and their families went through along with the black community.”
“Many responses about #DahmerNetflix are centered on ppl’s attraction to Evan Peters who portrays #Dahmer. This man targeted & murdered Black/brown #LGBTQ males. The victims should be the one’s remembered but fan’s support overshadows justice to sensationalize a murderer. #BLM,” tweeted another person.
The controversial serial killer’s story also made him a popular Halloween costume. However, the onslaught of criticism led e-commerce company eBay to pull any costumes and accessories inspired by Dahmer from its website.
