() — Netflix’s hit series “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” has sparked renewed interest in the notorious serial killer just in time for the Halloween season, so one company decided to remove Dahmer costumes.
An eBay spokesperson confirmed to in an email that Jeffrey Dahmer costumes are now banned from the platform and will be removed under his “Politics of violence and violent criminals“.
The policy states that “sales that promote or glorify violence or violent acts, or that are associated with persons known to commit violent acts, are not permitted.”
The spokesperson added that the ban on Dahmer’s costumes is not a new or recent decision.
The Netflix series has sparked a heated debate over its portrayal of the serial killer. Some critics like Sara Stewart, who writes for , have suggested that despite the attempt to focus on Dahmer’s victims, the show veers into the insensitive, especially since some of the victims’ families said they were not consulted before the show. its release.
Regardless, the show, starring Evan Peters, has been extremely popular: it racked up over 196 million hours of viewing in the first week after its release.
Dahmer murdered and dismembered seventeen men and boys — most of them black — in Wisconsin between 1978 and 1991. He was sentenced to life in prison in 1992 and beaten to death by a fellow inmate in 1994.
As of Saturday afternoon, searching for “Jeffrey Dahmer costume” on eBay will still show some results, such as clear glasses that look like the ones Dahmer wears. Other retailers like Etsy also appear to be selling blonde wig kits, transparent glasses and orange jumpsuits labeled as Jeffrey Dahmer suits.
Gymnast Simone Biles is also one of the people who has spoken out against the costumes, writing on Twitter last week: “Put the Jeffrey Dahmer costumes back in the closet.”