Kesha breaks silence on Jeffrey Dahmer line in 'Cannibal' lyrics after calls to remove it

4 July 2025, 12:19 | Updated: 4 July 2025, 13:14

By Sam Prance

Following the release of Dahmer on Netflix in 2022, fans called on Kesha to apologise for the lyric.

Kesha has officially responded to the viral controversy surrounding the Jeffrey Dahmer line in her 'Cannibal' lyrics.

When Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story debuted on Netflix in 2022, many people were shocked to learn exactly how horrifying Jeffrey Dahmer's crimes were. The series explored how the serial killer would kill and eat his victims. It also gave viewers some insight into how Dahmer's victims and families were affected by his crimes.

In the wake of the series, people began re-examining references to Dahmer in pop culture and Kesha, in particular, was criticised for her song 'Cannibal' which was viral on TikTok at the time. In the song, Kesha jokingly compares herself to Dahmer and people began asking for Kesha to remove the Dahmer lyric from the song.

Kesha never addressed the backlash at the time but now she's spoken out about being "cancelled" for the lyric.

Scroll down to see the controversial 'Cannibal' lyric and what Kesha's said about it.

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Kesha’s mum defends her Jeffrey Dahmer lyric

In 'Cannibal', Kesha famously sings: Your little heart goes pitter-patter / I want your liver on a platter / Use your finger to stir my tea / And for dessert, I'll suck your teeth. Kesha then adds: Be too sweet and you’ll be a goner / Yeah, I’ll pull a Jeffrey Dahmer / I eat boys up, breakfast and lunch, then when I’m thirsty, I drink their blood.

Discussing the controversy with People, Kesha said: "Oh my God I got re-canceled for the Jeffrey Dahmer lyric." She then added that she wasn't surprised by the negative response: "It was a controversial lyric. If some people aren't offended by what I'm doing, I'm probably not doing a very good job of being a pop star."

To this day, Kesha still continues to perform 'Cannibal'. The song's currently part of Kesha's The Tits Out Tour setlist and Kesha still performs the Dahmer lyric in full.

Kesha - Cannibal (Official Lyric Video)

When the controversy initially surfaced in 2022, Kesha's mother Pebe Sebert defended the Dahmer line and revealed that she wrote it. In a TikTok, Pebe said: "The whole Jeffrey Dahmer lyric in 'Cannibal' is a big controversy right now and I thought I’d just say a few things about it because that was my line that I wrote in 'Cannibal'."

Pebe continued: "At the time, Kesha and the other writer were too young to even know who Jeffrey Dahmer was. Not to be insensitive to anybody whose families were involved in this and lost loved ones. It was just a tongue-in-cheek, funny song. It was not actually about cannibalism. It was just a title."

Pebe also apologised to anyone who was hurt by the line: "I’m sorry for anyone who’s lost a family member in this tragedy. We certainly never meant to hurt anybody or make anybody feel bad."

What do you think of the Dahmer line?

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