"Fifty Shades of Grey" author E.L. James took a world class, cyber beating on Monday during a Twitter Q&A that was supposed to focus on her new book, "Grey," which tells the exact same story as "Fifty Shades," but from the titular character's point of view. Twitter users and Christian Grey haters overtook the #AskELJames hashtag to accuse the author of being homophobic, misogynisti, and romanticizing an abusive relationship.
There were so many tweets to James that the hashtag became the number one trending topic in the United States and the number two trending topic in the world. James ignored all her haters and stuck to answering questions she could handle. The tame questions included, "What was your favorite scene to write?" and "Have you ever wanted to change anything in Ana and Christian's story?"
"Fifty Shades of Grey" started as "Twilight" fan fiction that James posted to Fanfiction.net, an online forum that allows fans to write stories based on the setting and characters from their favorite movies, TV shows, and books, according to Business Insider.
James probably is not too bothered by all the hate, as she has reportedly earned more than $100 million thanks to "Fifty Shades," according to Forbes.
Check out some of the harsh tweets from the Q&A session below.
Which do you hate more, women or the English language? #AskELJames
— Ian Robinson (@eyeswideshut75) June 29, 2015
Do you ever feel guilty that you made so much money from romanticizing sexual abuse and selling it as "erotica romance"? #AskELJames — Melanin Monroe (@Jherane_) June 29, 2015
Did you see the abusive relationship of Bella and Edward and think "hmm needs more abuse" #AskELJames
— R_chelCh_rlt_nD_iley (@RachelCDailey) June 29, 2015
#AskELJames Do all these negative tweets sent to you seem abusive to you? I think it's romantic enough to be turned into a novel! — Stephan Krosecz (@Krosecz) June 29, 2015
#AskELJames what do you hate more? a) good literature b) consent c) women d) healthy relationships e) all of the above
— emma (@PRESERUMPINING) June 29, 2015
#AskELJames after the success of "Grey," have you considered re-telling the story from the perspective of someone who can write — Andrew Vestal (@avestal) June 29, 2015
