The stars of ‘Fifty Shades Darker’ descended on Leicester Square for the film’s London premiere on Thursday (10 February), but what producers might not have counted on was a few uninvited guests also turning up.
While actors Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan posed for photographers on the red carpet at the event, nearby protesters voiced their disdain for the film, claiming that it glorifies and glamourises domestic abuse.
For those unfamiliar with the story of ‘Fifty Shades’, let us quickly try and bring you up to speed with the plot of the first story.
It’s a fairly traditional tale, really. Girl meets boy. Girl becomes infatuated with boy. Boy reveals he’s not interested in relationships unless they centre around BDSM, and offers the girl a contract full of hard and soft limits for all future sexual excursions.
Girl mulls it over while being tied up, blindfolded and spanked by boy in a variety of scenarios. Oh, and boy also happens to be a millionaire with a helicopter and a really nice house, with an entire room devoted to bondage. Girl eventually flees when she feels boy has taken things a step too far.
The stuff romance is made of, right?
However, unhappy protesters have suggested that the themes of BDSM and sado masochism open the door to domestic abuse, though Anastasia Steele actress Dakota Johnson has dismissed this.
She told the Press Association: “If those people were to see the film they would see that Anastasia is an incredibly empowered young woman and everything she does is of her own volition.
“I think she carries herself with such integrity and self worth that maybe if they watched it they would feel a little bit inspired.”
Jamie Dornan added: “The biggest part of S&M is boundaries, having a safe word, that’s what that is. People only do it because they want to, nobody forces you into it… it’s consensual and that should close that argument.”
‘Fifty Shades Darker’ is out now in UK cinemas.