Evan Peters took away a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Limited Series on Tuesday night for his role as Jeffrey Dahmer in the Netflix limited series Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
While many were happy for Peters on his win and applauded his commitment to the role, one person was none too pleased about the actor's win and his subsequent speech.
Shirley Hughes, the mother of one of Dahmer's victims Tony Hughes, spoke out about the actor's acceptance speech, claiming he should have mentioned the victims' suffering families or paid tribute to the victims.
Hughes told TMZ:
"Evan should have used his acceptance speech to mention the families who are still suffering from Dahmer's crimes, or to say Hollywood should put an end to telling stories about killers and glorifying them."
"It's a shame that people can take our tragedy and make money. The victims never saw a cent."
"We go through these emotions every day."
She added the glorification of the murders makes people want more.
"There's a lot of sick people around the world."
"And people winning acting roles from playing killers keeps the obsession going and this makes sick people thrive on the fame."
Many on Twitter agree with Hughes and acknowledged her feelings on the issue are completely valid.
https://t.co/hzpnapnfSI
The mother of one the victims, Shirley Hughes has every right to feel this way. Who will remember Tony Hughes; her son or Dahmer's other victims? Over time the victims are forgotten.
— MaryMacElveen (@MaryMacElveen) January 12, 2023
Agreed. No one (including the actors) should profit from this. It's actually despicable and very poor judgement.
— LB (@somepplrude) January 12, 2023
He acted in it knowing the objections from the family. Not only that, but morally, nobody would want their child’s sadistic murder to be reenactment for ENTERTAINMENT. These people are making millions of her sons death.
— D. Booska (@D_Booskap) January 12, 2023
These killers should never be mentioned again .. pop culture makes them legends .. people dressed up as Dahmer for Halloween smh ..
— J (@KFabe4Life) January 12, 2023
Several, however, thought Peters deserved the win for his performance.
Others said such films or series played a critical part in educating viewers.
Evan Peters is not to blame for Jeffrey Dahmer.
— Melissa Kelley☘️ (@CiaoBebe) January 12, 2023
\u201cShirley Hughes literally can\u2019t be mad at Evan Peters for portraying Dahmer #GoldenGlobes\u201d— Adam Hill \ud83c\udf08\ud83c\udf41 (@Adam Hill \ud83c\udf08\ud83c\udf41) 1673569510
It's not Evan Petets fault, leave the guy alone
— You just got Hayes-d (@The_Warlock_86) January 12, 2023
It’s not gloryifying Dahmer, it’s a nod to Peters being a good actor.
What Peters said was also perfect for the moment. He did a great job about very difficult and sad moment of history.
— S (@szc55) January 12, 2023
And then some agreed Hughes is correct but Peters deserved the win.
\u201cTwo things can co-exist \n1. Shirley Hughes is 100% right\n2.Evan Peters had an amazing performance\u201d— Papi (@Papi) 1673574746
His incredible acting in Dahmer and the grief it brought the family of the victims who has to relive the trauma, they are separate things. The issue is the company that brought Dahmer to Netflix for entertainment. Doesn’t make Evan any less of a fantastic actor. Deserving fr
— Dr. Isabelle B. Wolfe (@TiffRnbwbrght) January 12, 2023
Shirley's son was an aspiring model.
Tony, who was deaf, communicated to Dahmer through handwritten notes, which is how Dahmer invited him to his apartment. Tony was only 31 when he was killed by Dahmer.
Shirley condemned Netflix for the series in the past, unable to conceive how a series like Dahmer could be made. She also noted "it didn't happen like that."
She told The Guardian in October:
"I don't see how they can do that."
"I don't see how they can use our names and put stuff out like that out there."
Peters did share in his speech he hoped "some good" came out of telling the story.
After thanking his friends, family and creator Ryan Murphy, he addressed fans of the show.
"I want to thank everyone who watched this show."
"It was a difficult one to make, a difficult one to watch."
"But I sincerely hope some good came out of it."
\u201cAn incredible performance that deserves the win for Best Actor - Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Television Motion Picture! So happy for you, Evan Peters! \ud83d\ude4c #GoldenGlobes\u201d— Golden Globe Awards (@Golden Globe Awards) 1673409247
Dahmer has become Netflix's second-most watched English language series of all time, just behind Wednesday.
While Peters undoubtedly committed to his role and executed it well, it must be very difficult for the families of Dahmer's victims to handle the public resurgence of the tragedies they've struggled with for so long.
