Just in time for Halloween, the Netflix series “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” has reignited interest in the notorious serial killer, but at least one online retailer has discontinued sales of Dahmer costumes.
A spokesperson for eBay confirmed via email to CNN that listings for Jeffrey Dahmer costumes are prohibited and are being removed in accordance with its “Violence and Violent Criminal Policy.”
According to the policy, “Listings that promote or glorify violence or violent acts, or are associated with infamous perpetrators of violent acts, are not permitted.”
The spokesperson added that the decision to prohibit Dahmer costumes was neither new nor recent.
Due to its depiction of the serial killer, the series has sparked intense debate. Some critics, such as CNN’s Sara Stewart, have argued that despite the show’s attempt to focus on Dahmer’s victims, it is insensitive, particularly because some of the victims’ families claim they were not consulted prior to their portrayal.
However, the show starring Evan Peters has been incredibly popular: in the first week after its premiere, it amassed more than 196 million viewing hours.
Between 1978 and 1991, Dahmer murdered and dismembered seventeen men and boys, the majority of whom were Black, in Wisconsin. He was given a life sentence in 1992 and was murdered by a fellow inmate in 1994.
As of Saturday afternoon, a search on eBay for “Jeffrey Dahmer costume” still yields some results, such as clear glasses resembling those worn by the real Dahmer and by Peters in “Monster” as Dahmer. And it appears that other online retailers, such as Etsy, are also selling blonde wigs, clear glasses, and orange jumpsuits labeled as Jeffrey Dahmer costumes.
Simone Biles, a gymnast, has also spoken out against the costumes, tweeting last week, “put the Jeffrey Dahmer costumes back in the closet.”
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