Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story star Niecy Nash has spoken out on the impact of the Netflix series, expressing her belief that it ‘shines more of a light on the victims than on the killer’.
Evan Peters, 35, plays the role of the real-life serial killer and sex offender who was responsible for the deaths of 17 boys and men between the years 1978 and 1991 in the true crime anthology show that was made available on the streaming platform in September of this year.
The drama that was created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan has been met with criticism from members of the public as well as surviving members of the families of the victims. Despite this, the show has seen a surge in viewership, becoming the third series on Netflix to surpass 1 billion views in sixty days.
Glenda Cleveland, who in real life was convicted of 16 murders and sentenced to life in prison in 1992, before being beaten to death by a fellow inmate two years later, is the character that Nash, who is 52 years old, plays in the story. In real life, Glenda Cleveland was a neighbour of Jeffrey Dahmer.
The performance of the actress has earned her praise, as well as a nomination for the Golden Globe Award in the category of best supporting actress in a television limited series or motion picture, which will be presented in the near future.
In a recent interview, she addressed the fact that some of her admirers applauded her portrayal despite the fact that they had not seen the dramatised series based on Dahmer’s life.
‘I feel like it’s shining more of a light on the victims than it is on the killer,’ she said, despite the criticism the show has received.
She added to Deadline: ‘Normally, you view it from the lead character’s point of view, but you actually get to enter the story through the eyes of his neighbor.’
Nash spoke further about her role as Glenda Cleveland, explaining that the character was ‘a blend of a few different women and people in the community who had an experience with Jeffrey Dahmer’.
‘I did the best I could while understanding there’s a commonality that all people share who have been hurt,’ she stated.
‘When your voice goes unheard, when your needs go unmet, when you are crying out and no one is listening, that’s a space that if we haven’t been in our life, at some point we will be.’
In October, Murphy spoke out in defence of the Dahmer series, stressing that the creation of the production was ‘always about the victims’.
The Glee creator said: ‘We weren’t really interested in Dahmer the monster. It was [about] who was complicit in making the monster. There were many, many different things involved in that. It was a complicated human story.
‘It tackled systemic racism, homophobia. We were always thinking of the victims.’
Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is available to watch on Netflix.
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