Years after her novels became very popular, E.L. James admits her real feelings about Fifty Shades of Grey’s Christian Grey. Debuting in the author’s Twilight-inspired books, the story of Christian and Anastasia Steele was eventually adapted to the big screen. While the movies turned a profit for Universal, all three installments were critically panned.
More than a decade since her books were published, James opens up about creating the character of Christian while promoting her new book, The Missus, to Today.com. She admits that despite the initial infatuation many had with Christian from the Fifty Shades trilogy, making a relationship work with him would be extremely difficult. Read her full quote below:
I think you’d have to have the patience of a saint to marry someone like Christian. I just find Christian mentally exhausting. Physically exhausting. Utterly exhausting.
Why The Fifty Shades Trilogy Aged So Poorly
Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan look on in Fifty Shades of Grey
When Fifty Shades of Grey came out in 2012, it became an immediate massive hit. Aside from the typical romance, James spiced things up by incorporating more mature elements in her book, piquing the interest of many. Eventually, two more books from the series were released, and all of them were eventually turned into movies with Jamie Dornan playing Christian and Dakota Johnson as Ana. Overall, the movie trilogy earned $1.3 billion at the global box office against having only a $150 million budget.
Despite its commercial success, the films were never critical darlings. The Fifty Shades trilogy was brutally criticized for its toxic romance and usage of BDSM merely as a plot device. While the relationship between the leads was clearly problematic, Christian as a character, in particular, was criticized for his questionable actions. His troublesome and even abusive behavior was often disguised as a grand romantic gesture and was often painted as romantic just because he had money.
Now that a substantial amount of time has passed since the Fifty Shades of Grey films were released, the public is able to re-examine them with a fresh set of eyes. Without the hype surrounding the story, many viewers have come to realize just how problematic Ana and Christian are. Even Johnson admitted to clashes with James during the production of the movies. Now, James seems more open to re-examining her work, which could itself be a result of the Fifty Shades of Grey movies and books not being looked on as fondly as they once were.
