On November 5th, UK-based anti-domestic violence group Wearside Women in Need plans to burn copies of E.L. James‘ Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy.
According to Mail Online, director Clare Phillipson championed the bonfire after reading two-thirds of the novel. She explained: “we have libraries wasting and grossly misusing public money to buy a book which says: ‘domestic violence is sexy.'”
The New York Daily News reported that Ohio-based DJs Chad Zumock and Alan Cox also hosted a Fifty Shades burning back in July 2012. Cox argued that their event did not advocate censorship because all the participants joined in voluntarily.
According to to the Irish Independent, Random House responded with this statement: “The Fifty Shades trilogy is a work of romantic fiction which explores a consensual relationship between two willing adult participants. The books are being enjoyed by millions of readers — primarily women — around the world.”