Remember when World Book Day saw hundreds of little Harry Potters walking around, because it was far easier to paint a lightning bolt on your kids’ heads than crafting intricate costumes? Well, one child in the U.K. has one-upped everyone. Eleven-year-old Liam Scholes walked into Manchester’s Sale High School dressed as his new favorite book character, Christian Grey. As in, Fifty Shades of Grey’s leading man. Unfortunately, the school didn’t appreciate his creativity and banned him from the festivities.
We’re still pretty perplexed as to how (a) little Liam came to learn about the closeted BDSM freak Christian Grey, and (b) why he wanted to emulate him for World Book Day. To be clear, though, Liam’s mother, Nicola, promises that the boy hasn’t read the book or seen the movie. So you can at least take solace in that fact. Regardless, the school deemed the costume "offensive." Liam’s mother, Nicola, told BBC radio (via The Hollywood Reporter) on Friday morning that his outfit consisted of a grey suit, white and grey tie, an eye mask and two small cable ties in his pocket. This kid went all out and, as she said, it was supposed to be tongue-in-cheek.
As she said,
They told him he had to change his character, that he had to be James Bond, who is actually very promiscuous and kills people.
Mr. 007 does have a higher number of random sexual partners, but we’re sure the backers of #50dollarsnot50shades would highly disagree. Supported by numerous organizations dedicated to the prevention of sexual violence and violence towards women, the online campaign claims that the Fifty Shades franchise glorifies abuse. In a similar fashion, former Even Stevens star Christy Carlson Romano is promoting another campaign, #Consent.
On the other hand, how could something like this not be taken for what it is, a hilarious take on something unsuitable for children?
According to Scholes, there were a number of other costumes at the World Book Day celebrations that she deemed far more inappropriate than her son’s get-up. She mentioned in her tweet that there were some kids wielding guns, and one teacher was dressed up as a serial killer. So, what’s the moral of this story? Sex is far more "offensive" than violence. After all, the UK’s version of the MPAA gave the film an 18 certificate, which is more akin to the US’s NC-17 rating.
