Niecy Nash-Betts is reflecting on all the criticism aimed at Netflix’s Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, in which she portrays the serial killer’s neighbor and whistleblower Glenda Cleveland. And her perspective on the show’s sensitive material is quite personal.
“My brother was murdered on his high school campus,” she tearfully told Variety in a new cover story. “And you never forget. You’re reminded if you pass a cemetery, by a favorite song, a smell, memory, photo. If you have had a loved one die in a horrific way, it is going to be with you for the rest of your life, not just from a TV show. So the goal would be, how do people remember them?”
Despite the miniseries’ record-breaking ratings and awards buzz (Nash-Betts is forecast to receive an Emmy nomination for her role in July), Dahmer became the subject of intense backlash from viewers and relatives of the killer’s victims when it premiered last fall. Among other complaints, many accused Netflix and the show’s creator, Ryan Murphy, of exploiting Dahmer’s primarily Black and brown male victims for entertainment.
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One of Dahmer’s most vocal detractors was Rita Isbell, the sister of Errol Lindsey, who was murdered by Dahmer. Isbell gave an emotionally charged victim impact statement at the sex offender’s 1992 sentencing that was recreated in an episode of Dahmer, and in an essay she penned for Insider, she claimed that she was never contacted about the series. Her cousin Eric Perry also denounced the series in a viral Twitter thread.
Nash-Betts, however, maintains that she and others involved in the show had good intentions when depicting the Milwaukee tragedies.
“Hopefully, there is some solace in us introducing your loved ones to the world, and not just having them just be a faceless, nameless person connected to this case,” the actress told Variety. “That was what I prayed for.”
“There were so many nameless, faceless people that got all lumped together because Jeffrey Dahmer was at the forefront of the story,” she continued. “What I appreciated about Ryan Murphy was that he said this story will not be told from his point of view. He really wanted people to see the collateral damage to these victims. And even though Glenda was not killed by Jeffrey Dahmer, she was, indeed, one of his victims.”
Previously, the RENO 911! actress gave a more terse response to the backlash in January, following her Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series win at the Critics Choice Awards. “Well, I can just say that I understand it,” Nash-Betts said at the time. “Everybody has a perspective. Even in anything you do in life, nobody is going to agree with everything you do.”
