Netflix has been the “home” of several true crime series for a long time, and the conversation about the platform’s glorification of serial killers has existed for just as long. But, it wasn’t until last year when Evan Peters stole the show with an award-winning performance as Jeffrey Dahmer in Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story that things escalated.
Now, You star, Penn Badgley, has offered his two cents regarding the criticism. Surprisingly enough, he’s very much in agreement with what everyone is saying about Netflix and its affinity for both fictional and real-life killers.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, the presumed Fantastic Four actor defended his role as Joe Goldberg in You while also criticizing Netflix’s take on Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy, saying:
You need to look inside… With our show, you’re meant to fall in love with him, that’s on us. Ted Bundy? That’s on you. Jeffrey Dahmer? That’s on Netflix. That is squarely on the shoulders of Netflix.
Fans have taken to social media to applaud Badgley for taking a brave and rare stance given that he’s in contract with the streaming platform for at least one more season of You.
Season 4 Part 1 of You is currently streaming on Netflix with Part 2 coming next month. Meanwhile, Netflix won’t stop with its exploration and glorification of the lives of serial killers anytime soon due to the commercial and critical success of Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. The streaming giant will release at least two more seasons of the Monster anthology exploring the lives of other serial killers.
@xfire.com Penn Badgley just called out Netflix for glorifying serial killers #pennbadgley #pennbadgleyfan #netflix #fyp #foryou #viral #trending
We’re expecting both seasons to face a similar backlash to the first one although the quality remains up in the air.
At the end of the day, the public’s morbid curiosity regarding stories about real-life murderers won’t go away soon. Netflix isn’t blameless, but you can’t fault it for wanting to attract as many eyes to its subscription service. However, Netflix might also want to consider what Badgley had just said. The award-winning Dahmer series exposed audiences to situations that you could argue were blatant exploitation of the trauma and privacy of the victims as well as their families.
It also doesn’t help that several families have come forward in recent months claiming that Netflix didn’t ask for permission nor did the platform reach out to at least offer some form of compensation for uncovering old wounds.
Ultimately, this is a tough subject. However, we’re hoping Netflix finds a way to keep everybody happy, especially the lives of the victims and their loved ones.
