#AskELJames Controversy

Posted on by Rebecca Hansen

Trigger Warning: Sexual Abuse

To set the scene, the 2015 film Fifty Shades of Grey, based on James’ best-selling book of the same name, made more than $166 million. Although it was a financial hit, some audiences were disappointed and upset about the unrealistic expectation of the main character’s relationship. James wrote and promoted her newest book, Grey, told from the perspective of the love interest named Christian Grey. The @FiftyShadesUK account promoted the author’s Q&A via Twitter, setting up the infamous hashtag. A few fans took the opportunity to ask relevant questions about the Fifty Shades of Grey characters. Critics took the opportunity to use the trending #AskELJames to sarcastically ask the author questions about her characters’ practices. Some users claimed E.L. James was homophobic and ignorant of the BDSM culture in addition to being an overall bad writer. Other topics included consent, stalking and abuse. Although the Twitter chat was only supposed to last on June 29, 2015, users continue to use the hashtag to comment on both sides of the argument.

The responses about the book look like this:

The opposing side looked like this:

I personally see both sides of the story. Some people just want to read it for fun, but on the other hand, some of the characters’ practices are questionable (from what I’ve heard). I will say that #AskELJames set the bar for #AskTrump and #AskRachel.

 

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