Why Ariana Grande Was Slammed By Dahmer Victim's Family (2024)

Ariana Grande's interest in an infamous serial killer is not winning any support from fans, especially those Jeffrey Dahmer traumatized.

The "7 Rings" hitmaker recently faced backlash for confessing her dream dinner date would be the nicknamed Milwaukee Monster. One of the late victim's family found her revelation particularly distasteful.

Ariana Grande is not the only person interested in Jeffrey Dahmer, as Ryan Murphy's Netflix series about the cannibal sparked similar outrage from his victim's families.

Ariana Grande Is 'Sick In The Mind' Says Jeffrey Dahmer's Victim Family

When Grande shared her dream dinner date, she presumably did not expect her words to wake a hornet's nest of criticism. However, the damage has already been done, and an apology is in order as far as Tony Hughes' family is concerned.

Tony was a deaf, non-verbal victim Dahmer targeted and killed in 1991, a painful death that still breaks his mother's heart whenever her son's murderer comes up. This is why she could not condone Grande's playful reaction to a sensitive subject.

Shirley, Tony's mother, aired her grievances to TMZ, stressing that Grande needs to understand how hurtful her comments are. She notes that the singer laughing about her Dahmer fascination is wrong as she and other victims' families experienced real pain; in her words:

Grande Bashed For Glamorizing The Infamous Serial Killer

Shirley's anger towards Grande's confession continued, with the mother's concerns about the singer's lack of empathy for Dahmer's victims and their loved ones. Her daughter, Barbara, echoed similar sentiments, accusing the 31-year-old of glamorizing the serial killer.

Given their resurfaced pain from Grande's comments, Barbara believes her family is owed an apology from the "Yes, And?" hitmaker. She also notes the singer needs to admit her wrongs so her fans understand such confessions aren't proper.

"Unfortunately, until it happens to her and her family, she just doesn't know what we have been through," Barbara concludes her response to Grande.

This isn't the first time Tony's family has been offended by the attention on Dahmer; they were equally upset by Ryan Murphy's Netflix series, "Dahmer—Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story."

Inside Ariana Grande's Dream Date Confession

Grande's dream date confession happened last week during an appearance on the "Podcrushed" podcast, as reported by The Blast.

She revealed she was "infatuated with serial killers" at a younger age, prompting the hosts to bring up the meet-and-greet experience she had with a young fan.

"It was in a Q&A with fans, with young fans. It was in between me being Cat [in Nickelodeon's 'Sam & Cat'] and pop stuff, so it was like a younger group, and they were with parents," Grande recalled.

"Someone said. 'If you could have dinner with anyone living or dead, who would it be?'" the 31-year-old continued, stressing that she asked for the child's parents' permission to give a genuine answer to the question.

"They were like, 'Sure, what's the answer?' and I was like, 'I mean,Jeffrey Dahmeris pretty fascinating. I think I would have loved to have met him. Y'know, maybe with a third party or someone involved. But I have questions,'" Grande admitted.

The R.E.M. Beauty Founder's Words Sparked Social Media Outrage

Like The Hughes family, Grande's fans were shocked by her interest in Dahmer and flooded social media platforms with shocked reactions. One Instagram user penned: "Please tell me this is a joke."

Another advised Grande to cease her Dahmer fascination, stressing, "Girl, I promise you don't want that." A third bashed the singer, writing: "Ari, this is worse than any lyrics referencing him."

"Oh no, she did not," a social media user lamented, while another begged, "Girlie, tell me you're joking." Other fans gave Grande the benefit of the doubt, asking if her dinner date was meant to be Evan Peters, who portrayed Dahmer in the Netflix series.

Dahmer's Dad Allegedly Had Hallucinations Of His Late Son Before His Death

Lionel Dahmer, the father of the infamous serial killer, died in December 2023 at 87. The Blastshared that he had been in hospice since October following the decline of his health after his wife Shari died in January.

"It was slow at first, but he didn't want to get up and move as much. It was almost as if he was ready to go," an insider said of Lionel's final months, revealing the 87-year-old often dreamt of his late son.

"In his final months, he was heavily medicated and had hallucinations about seeing Jeff," the source claimed, "He was incoherent and asking if people had seen Jeff. He said that Jeff had come to see him."