Kesha Fires Back as TikTok Revives Jeffrey Dahmer ‘Cannibal’ Lyrics
When your decade-old pop anthem casually name-drops a notorious cannibal and resurfaces as a TikTok dance trend in 2020, you know the internet has officially peaked. Kesha, born Kesha Rose Sebert, didn’t exactly start her career expecting to be judged by the ghost of Jeffrey Dahmer, but here we are, dissecting a 2010 lyric like forensic evidence. It’s the kind of artistic risk that says “I have no idea how awkward it’ll look when your teenage fans actually hear you brag about pulling a serial killer move”—but hey, content is king.
In a People magazine interview published July 3, the 38-year-old pop star admitted she got “re-canceled” for the infamous line “Yeah, I’ll pull a Jeffrey Dahmer” after TikTokers breathed new life into “Cannibal.” She explained that while some fans shrugged, others felt the bite of referencing a killer who dismembered 17 young men, which is a strong reminder that context matters when you mix murder and melody. If you thought late-night comedy writers had warped imaginations, try sitting in the room where someone pitched “Dahmer” as a rhyme for “goner.”
The lyric in question was co-written by her mom, Pebe Sebert, who defended the line in an October 2022 TikTok, admitting she and Kesha were too young to fully grasp Dahmer’s atrocities at the time. Using a songwriting tool called Master Writer, they searched for rhymes, found “Dahmer,” and decided it was “perfect,” which might be the world’s most tone-deaf rhyme session. It’s the artistic equivalent of adding glitter to a crime scene—sparkly, confusing, and inevitably triggering someone’s PTSD.
The controversy reignited alongside the 2022 Netflix limited series DAHMER—Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story from Ryan Murphy, which drew criticism for potentially exploiting victims’ families. Murphy pointed out that his team “reached out to around 20 of the victims’ families and friends” for input, only to be met with silence, a fact noted by E! Online and The Independent. Because nothing says sensitivity like dramatizing dismemberment for Emmy nominations while companies count clicks.
Meanwhile, Kesha isn’t a stranger to updating lyrics for a modern audience—she famously tweaked her “Tik Tok” opening from “Wake up in the mornin’ feelin’ like P. Diddy” to the slightly more pointed “Wake up in the morning feelin’ like, f— P. Diddy!” She told People that watching 7-year-olds relate to a 15-year-old song is “a beautiful thing,” which is one way to spin seemingly unhinged resurgences into a master class on music longevity. Because why let a few hundred thousand dismemberment jokes stop you from teaching toddlers the value of catchy choruses?
Kesha’s TikTok revival proves that music consumption has shifted—songs acquire new lives, new audiences, and new controversies in a matter of pixels and algorithms. The fact that “Cannibal” slipped under the radar for a decade only to resurface via dance challenge highlights the unpredictable nature of streaming-era fame. It’s basically clickbait with a heartbeat, except sometimes that heartbeat comes from a serial killer’s victims.
She’s embraced the platform’s ability to repurpose her catalog, whether it’s using spooky beats or questionable murder metaphors to keep a 15-year-old track trending. In response to backlash, her team has maintained that art often courts discomfort, and that offense is a risk pop stars are willing to take in the name of creativity. After all, if you’re not offending someone, you might as well be singing nursery rhymes.
While some critics may never forgive the macabre punchline, others admire her audacity for doubling down rather than issuing a canned apology. The whole saga underscores how celebrity, crime, and social media collide, turning decades-old lyrics into live wire debates. It’s like watching a slow-motion car crash on your For You Page, and somehow you can’t look away. Tune in next time when another chart-topper unearths an obscure historical figure for a rhyme, because the human circus never closes.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and People Magazine, E! Online, The Independent, Netflix
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
