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E L James’ #AskELJames Twitter Q&A Would Have Made Christian Grey Cringe

EL James' Twitter Q&A
E L James' Twitter Q&A on June 29 backfired in a major way when Fifty Shades of Grey critics took over the author's #AskELJames hashtag

Looks like Anastasia Steele isn't the only glutton for punishment. E L James put herself in the hot seat on Monday, June 29, when she participated in a live Twitter Q&A with Fifty Shades fans — and, more dominantly (no pun intended), critics.

Related: PHOTOS: Fifty Shades' steamiest pics

Shortly after the Q&A started on Monday afternoon, the #AskELJames hashtag was overtaken by Christian Grey haters who accused the author of being homophobic and misogynistic and romanticizing stalking and abuse. Others took issue with her actual writing, asking things like, "Which do you hate more, women or the English language?" 

There were so many tweets, in fact, that the hashtag became the No. 1 Twitter trend in the United States, and the No. 2 trend worldwide. (It's worth noting, though, that many people actually came to James' defense.)

Related: PHOTOS: Stars fight back on social

The author, for her part, stuck to answering the gentler questions, like, "What was your favorite scene to write?" and "Have you ever wanted to change anything in Ana and Christian's story?" She did seem to allude to the mixed bag of inquiries before signing off, however, tweeting, "Off to meet the competition winners, now. Thanks so much for an interesting hour… :D"

Ultimately, she has the last laugh anyway. According to the Los Angeles Times, James is now worth an estimated $58 million.

Related: PHOTOS: Dakota Johnson's sexy style

The Fifty Shades franchise is still growing, too — in addition to the original trilogy, Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker, and Fifty Shades Freed, James has written the spinoff Grey, which tells the story of the first book from Christian Grey's perspective. Then there are the film adaptations starring Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson, the first of which made more than $500 million at the box office.

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