Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story has sparked a social media firestorm since its release last week, with one scene proving too difficult for some viewers to stomach.
The fourth season of the crime drama anthology series explores the 1882 double homicide in Fall River, Massachusetts, in which Lizzie Borden was accused of slaying her father and stepmother with an axe.
Highlights
- Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story faces backlash over a disturbing scene.
- Viewers are calling for trigger warnings after an unexpected moment shocks them.
- The latest season also drew scrutiny over its portrayal of another infamous criminal.
The second episode of the new installment sparked backlash after an unexpected scene turned extremely graphic for some viewers while leaving others disgusted.
“This was so stupid and unnecessarily disgusting. I skipped to the end. Who tf approved of this mess,” one X user said.
Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story faces backlash over controversial dinner scene
Trigger warning: This article contains graphic details that may be disturbing to some readers.
The fourth season of Monster premiered on September 17, 2026, to generally negative reviews.
The controversial true-crime-inspired series, co-created by Ryan Murphy, has built a reputation for shocking viewers with graphic violence. However, the latest installment, starring Ella Beatty as Lizzie Borden, drew particularly strong reactions to its second episode.
In one scene, Lizzie and her maid, Bridget Sullivan (Vicky Krieps), attempt to poison her father, Andrew Borden (Charlie Hunnam), and stepmother, Abby Borden (Rebecca Hall), by feeding them spoiled oysters.
Moments later, the screen erupts into graphic projectile vomiting as an endless stream of orange liquid spews from the Bordens’ mouths. A brief clip from the scene is available here.
On Reddit, many viewers criticized the scene for being excessively graphic, with some saying it could be especially difficult for people sensitive to depictions of vomiting.
“An emetophobe's nightmare,” one person wrote.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, emetophobia is an intense fear of vomiting or seeing vomit that can cause severe anxiety and panic. Some viewers therefore argued that the episode should have included a trigger warning before the unexpected scene.
“I covered my eyes instantly and wanted to cry because the scene was so long. Felt like it would never end,” a second user said.
A third commented, “I’d rather not trigger my anxiety when I’m trying to relax after a stressful day at work.”
The Lizzie Borden Story director shares how the disturbing dinner scene was filmed
According to reports, the Bordens suffered a severe stomach illness several days before their demise.
Unlike the spoiled oysters depicted in the series, doctors at the time reportedly attributed their illness to weeks-old swordfish and mutton broth.
However, a pharmacist later claimed that Lizzie had attempted to buy poison the day before the double homicide.
In an interview with TheWrap, director Max Winkler said the scene was intended to be humorous, comparing it to a similar sequence in the 2022 film Triangle of Sadness.
Winkler also revealed that the actors used hidden tubes to project the faux vomit from their mouths, with the prop team filling them with a sickly orange liquid.
While Hall struggled with the faux bodily fluid, Hunnam apparently had no trouble getting through the messy shoot.
“That was a very messy, difficult day, but I am very pleased with how it turned out,” Winkler added.
Monster season 4’s inclusion of another notorious criminal divides viewers
The dinner scene wasn't the only element drawing criticism, as viewers also questioned the inclusion of real-life serial k*ll*r Aileen Wuornos, played by Sarah Paulson.
Between 1989 and 1990, Wuornos committed several homicides along highways in Florida. She had allegedly claimed the lives of seven men within a span of 12 months.
Wuornos was arrested on January 9, 1991. She was convicted of first-degree m*rd*r and received six separate d*ath sentences. She was executed in 2022.
Given that the series centers on an 1882 case, several viewers were surprised by Wuornos’ inclusion in the fourth season.
Many viewers described Wuornos’ appearance as another example of what they saw as the show's departure from historical accuracy.
“The show is a glorified fanfiction,” one X user said.
Another wrote, “I’m usually ok with creative liberties, but this show is feeling so…idk...like a Wattpad story someone cooked up.”
Some viewers speculated that Murphy had initially wanted to focus the season on Wuornos. Because the 2003 film Monster had already explored her story, they theorized that the character was instead incorporated into Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story.
"Turned it off": Many viewers said they couldn't watch past the dinner scene
