Butcher defends sick Jeffrey Dahmer advert: ‘Most people found it funny’
Following the Netflix show about serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, a butcher in Wales created a joke ad on Twitter to promote his meat. (Twitter/ Pontybutcher)
A Swansea butcher has defended his questionable decision to use a Jeffrey Dahmer joke to sell meat, after he received criticism from customers.
The Netflix drama series Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story has become one of the most talked-about shows this year, reviving the case of the serial killer who murdered 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991.
Ponty Butchers in Pontardawe, Swansea, sparked backlash for using the trending show to sell more meat, in a Facebook post that was later removed by the social media platform.
The butcher posted a screenshot of Evan Peters as Dahmer in the Netflix series to social media, alongside a photograph of the butchers’ beef, chicken, steak and sausages, and wrote: “These still available…. A deal so good it would make Jeffrey Dahmer empty his freezer!”
Dahmer was found with body parts in his refrigerator.
https://twitter.com/pontybutcher/status/1577230558073040896
The post remains live on Twitter, and Ponty Butchers owner Gareth Lewis told YorkshireLive: “I didn’t even intend to get a reaction, it was just for people to notice the post, it’s all tongue in cheek, I don’t want to upset anybody.
“A few people have said you shouldn’t be profiting off a serial killer or whatever but they don’t have an issue with Netflix doing the exact same thing. Most people found it funny and that’s all it’s intended to be.
“There were a handful of negative comments but obviously most people understood it’s just a joke. The ones who complain are never locals or customers so I’m not bothered.
“I use whatever is topical at the time for advertising and it works because people come in and say they have seen us online all the time.”
While Lewis may find his joke funny, the families of Dahmer’s victims have spoken out against the Netflix series and viewers’ reactions to it.
Shirley Hughes, mother of victim Tony Hughes, recently spoke of her heartbreak at the idea that viewers are likely to dress as Dahmer for Halloween, while Eric Perry, cousin to Dahmer victim Errol Lindsay, criticised the series for “retraumatising” families.
“I’m not telling anyone what to watch, I know true crime media is huge… but if you’re actually curious about the victims, my family (the Isbells) are p**sed about this show,” he wrote on Twitter.
“It’s retraumatising over and over again, and for what? How many movies/ shows/ documentaries do we need?”
