LGBTQ+ bars in the hometown of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer have banned costumes depicting the serial killer.
Dahmer, who murdered at least 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991, has come back into the public spotlight, recently following the release of the Netflix drama series Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story – leaving many concerned that the “Milwaukee cannibal” would become a popular Halloween costume.
Following reports of costumes imitating the killer appearing on sites such as eBay, several LGBTQ+ bars in Milwaukee, including D.I.X. Milwaukee and This Is It, have banned the costumes in their venues.
“We understand there’s a generation out there that did not live this situation. They may not understand the severity of how it affected the community,” D.I.X. Milwaukee manager Eric Hamilton said to ABC7.
“We don’t want to put patrons in the situation where they would have to see or relive something that they had to truly experience,” Hamilton added.
Another bar, This Is It took to Facebook to explain their stance, saying, “We reserve the right to refuse access to anyone wearing hateful, racist and otherwise disrespectful costume choices.”
“This includes anyone dressed as Dahmer.”