Yahya Abdul-Mateen II & Nicole Beharie’s New Film “By Any Means” Facing Pushback From Civil Rights Leader Vernon Dahmer Sr.’s Family For Allegedly ‘Erasing Who He Was As A Person & His Legacy

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II & Nicole Beharie’s New Film “By Any Means” Facing Pushback From Civil Rights Leader Vernon Dahmer Sr.’s Family For Allegedly ‘Erasing Who He Was As A Person & His Legacy

“By Any Means” hasn’t even hit our screens yet, and it’s already facing backlash.

The historical crime thriller — starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Nicole Beharie, #MarkWahlberg and Giancarlo Esposito — follows a mafia hitman-turned-FBI informant (Wahlberg) and a Black FBI agent (Abdul-Mateen II) as they work to uncover the m*rders of civil rights leaders in Mississippi in 1966. While the film is said to be loosely based on real events, the family of civil rights leader Vernon Dahmer Sr. is claiming Hollywood took some major liberties with his story.

Over on X, journalist Dawn Montgomery wrote, “Our family has been asking @ParamountPics to add a disclaimer to this film to help inform audiences that my ancestor Civil Rights Leader Vernon Dahmer Sr is a REAL PERSON. This movie attempts to erase who he was as a person & his legacy.” In the film, Dahmer Sr. is portrayed by Esposito, best known for playing Gus Fring in “#BreakingBad.”

Montgomery also shared a link calling for a boycott, and she’s not alone in speaking out. Dahmer Sr.’s son Dennis and widow Warnie also criticized the project in a video shared online, saying that if he were alive today, Dahmer Sr. would not support the movie. Dennis added, “Basically, what these movie people have done, they’ve taken one small minor participant, and they’ve over-exaggerated his role…they’ve created fictitious characters like a black FBI agent that didn’t exist.” So far, it doesn’t appear that the studio or any of the film’s stars have publicly addressed the backlash. “#ByAnyMeans” drops tomorrow, Sept. 4.