When it comes to a story like Fifty Shades of Grey, it’s not unexpected that there will be a tremendous dividing line in terms of those who enjoy it and those who don’t. Regardless of how one may feel about the tale, the author, EL James, is a woman deserving of the same respect as any other person.
Recently, EL James hosted a twitter chat, #AskELJames, and guess who was leading the wolf pack that attacked her?
That’s right, folks! None other than Jenny Trout, the notorious bully who sabotaged an author’s book by telling her friends and fans to pirate it and get it taken down from online bookstores because she claimed it was racist and violent toward women of color, only to realize later on that the author was a woman of color herself.
Yeah, remember that? Well, now she and the known misogynist tabloid website The Mary Sue, have begun a harassment campaign on twitter to attack James.
Navigating to the Tweets in question reveals mostly personal attacks, body shaming, referring to the author as a “cunt,” etc.
Regardless of how you may feel about the books, the author is still a human being, and everyone has the option not to read them. Ultimately, if one fact should be noted above all others, it’s this: E.L. James is one of the few women to strike it rich off her writing and build her own empire in a male-dominated economy, and she is being singled out for ridicule. It’s appalling that whenever a woman rises up in this world, and people like Jenny Trout or the Mary Sue do their best to take them back down.
By promoting this harassment against her, the Mary Sue and Jenny Trout are explicitly endorsing the degradation of her as both a human being and a woman.
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Edit: We just received from a blog reader. Apparently, there are many people out there in cyberspace who agree with us:
Well said, David!
The link to the article he is referring to is here.
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I’m glad that someone brought this up. Online bullying and shaming has gotten way out of hand around the time of Monica Lewinsky. She stood up against it recently at TEDTalks (Which I give much kudos for her courage to make a stand in such a public forum.) however has constantly been berated since on all online platforms she owns. I’ve followed quite a few of people on Twitter but most of the names that are brought up here are actually on the blocklist for Blocktogether (Highly recommended for removing overty bullying, racists, and known asshats from viewership.). I would suggest if anyone has a twitter account, get Blocktogether, for goddesses sake, it’ll save you tons of time and keep the idiots out.
Katie Babs, another author (and I use that term lightly in her case) joined at the hip to Trout ,delighted in a whole slew of mean and frankly stupid posts. The woman is a dim bulb, but gets a real charge out of going after James any chance she gets. The two of them stink of jealousy and show their butthurt and envy by running down James every chance they get. You’d think KT Grant (Babs) should be working on her terrible writing with her precious time instead relentless bullying. Waste of space.
It’s my experience that bullies are not in the main intelligent. They bully and abuse because their intelligence, in general, is not sufficient for them to get attention in respectable ways. Check out the Amazon Forum. The level of intelligence amongst the notorious abusers is frighteningly low. And some of these people brag that they are lawyers or have been lawyers. It is almost unimaginable that they could ever have been officers of the court in any jurisdiction in this country. I’m beginning to think that the internet may be a place where failed lawyers go to pretend to be the lawyers they couldn’t be in real life.
I agree with you 100% The Amazon trolls are not very bright at all.
Reading is hard when you live under dark bridges.
It really did my heart good to see the comments on the Yahoo article highlighting this public shaming of E.L. James. Everyone, and I mean everyone, was asking, “Who does this? Who publicly shames an author for writing a work of FICTION?”
Finally, FINALLY, maybe people who aren’t readers will realize what is happening. And maybe they’ll help the rest of us do something about it.
I will never forgive the Mary Sue for how the defamed a whole bunch of authors and the hit piece on Brad Torgensen.
That might actually not be a bad idea for a follow-up for STGRB, Athena. What do you think?
Maybe we can call them out on all the other people this “news” website seems intent on defaming and maligning.
Tthe Mary Sue is one of the most hateful websites on the internet, they spread a lot of harmful misinformation extremely regularly and any time you bring attention to that and ask for corrections you get labeled as a harasser by them.
Yeah I got banned on the first Disqus post I ever made, saying Game of Thrones is a good show. lol
This is another disgusting display of small minds taking pleasure in hurting others.
Doesn’t Twitter have a new “no harassment” policy? Why haven’t the Twitter accounts of these hateful bullies been suspended? Doesn’t the policy apply to EVERYONE, not just “certain people”?
I probably already know the answers to the above question – although I’m wondering why more people aren’t asking the same…
“This is another disgusting display of small minds taking pleasure in hurting others.”
Some of them were pretty deserved though: Not the ones making personal attacks on the authors character, but certainly the ones that made scathing indictments of her writing skills. Some of those were not only accurate but down right hilarious: Because there is a difference between being a bully & being critical in a humorous fashion.
Well, when Twitter’s favorite harassment enforcer is Rand Harper, don’t expect them to
do too much. These people run in the same circle as her and since Twitter would rather
protect her and her ilk, I wouldn’t count on it.
I have seen the progression of Authors Bashing/Bullying other Authors firsthand. Is it just me or does the fact that one author bullying another in words, tweets, 1-star carpet-bombing seem even more despicable than if done by a reader? I would love it if Athena would do a series on this. I would be happy to contribute screen prints of what I’ve seen.
We actually do have a series on this: https://stopthegrbullies.com/bullies-as-authors/
So that is a thing then? That could literally be ones worst fear. Due to the nature of that network, things go by so quickly you can’t defend yourself.
Yes, they are warts on the ass of the writing community.
I think we’re finding that quite a few of the high profile bullies are in fact authors. I welcome more info on this, especially as regards those in the Amazon Top Reviewers Forum who hide behind pseudonyms.
Thanks for an excellent article. I’ve been the victim of the Mary Sue myself. People are entitled to their opinions, but I myself do not look to the Mary Sue for substantive or interesting or helpful posts. —– I checked in on the bullytariat on Amazon this morning. In that small dank place, the Usual Suspects continue to rage in support of bullying and abuse, and to engage in it. When you publish any article on bullying I think it helps fight bullying everywhere. —– People are really sick of it. They’re tired of censorship by bully, censorship by troll. Again, thanks for the article. Much appreciated. And I did mention it in the Amazon Forum Meet Our Authors Discussion on STGRB. (I am NOT encouraging any author or reviewer to post there! Not safe. The bullies patrol it all the time. But I’m used to them. And glad to give the thread occasional bumps. If it reaches one new author every day on Amazon, that will be good.)
I’m not surprised Trout is attacking a successful erotica writer. She herself writes very bad erotica, so she must be jealous as hell. I had a look at one of her own sad attempts at erotica: ‘Bad Boy, Good Man.’ Of the 10 reviews, all 4 or 5 stars, one was a ‘one hit wonder’, another was written by one of the quieter Amazon and Goodreads trolls, Cphe, and another was written by saramke, who reviews almost exclusively Jenny Trout or Abigail Barnette (one of Trout’s pen names) books. Hmm.
I read the look inside: it was so depressing – all about a sad, lonely woman jerking off by herself in her sad, lonely apartment – that I was not tempted to read further.
This is going to be one of those rare times when I’m going to disagree with you (which annoys me because this puts me on the same side as the Mary Sue, a position I NEVER want to be in).
While SOME of those comments certainly crossed the line (those containing personal attacks such as calling her a cunt), most were taking pot shots at the terrible technical skill demonstrated by the author.
An lets be honest here, it’s not like those comments weren’t deserved, especially my favorite which read something akin to “are you going to re-write this book; maybe from the point of view of someone who knows how to write.”
Yes the Mary Sue over stepped into the realms of being bullies themselves, but that’s like saying the popes a little bit religious, or water is a little bit damp, at this point it’s expected that the Mary Sue will plumb the lowest depths of totalitarian SJW geekdom, always on the look out for things to be offended by.
By lets be clear here, she set herself up by trying this on twitter, posting this on twitter is like going on to a stormfag forum board & saying “who wants to disqus how jewish people are the most awesome people ever.” The negative reply is not just likely it’s down right mandatory given the chosen platform.
Same holds true for twitter: Twitter exists so middle class trolls, with no personal accomplishments of their own can make themselves feel better about a life wasted, by attacking d list pseudo-celebrities.
But having said that, she as an author of such a poorly written novel is open to people taking a shot at her ability to write…. Unless anyone here has ever seen eye brows widen with surprise.
That is your opinion but the fact of the matter is that her books sold millions. She, as an author, will have people who hate her works but there are probably thousands who love it. That being said, it didn’t give the majority of those people on twitter the moral right to attack her like that for a work of fiction. It’s instances like this that makes many mid and low list authors afraid to even put their work out. Where would these so called ‘readers’ ‘critiquers’ be with no books or a poor selection of books out there to read. They feast and revel in tearing down an author and that is where they are wrong. It’s worse when the ones doing it are authors themselves. And if you are curious, no, I didn’t read any of the Shades books. They’re not a genre I read so I can’t say if I would have liked them or not.
I was going to respond to Morningstar’s comment, too, but you said it for me. Thanks, Torqueen!
Anytime, JBG.
“That is your opinion but the fact of the matter is that her books sold millions.”
That doesn’t put her work above reproach, which is what people were being critical of. An rightly so: You need to not make the mistake of people not being nice, with people bullying an author. There is nothing that says you need to be nice when you are being critical of a work of fiction, heck that’s the entire basis of English lit as a field of study.
So no, people making funny of the terrible writing that is objectively evident, nor people pointing out the ignorance of the authors knowledge on BDSM is not bullying: It may not be nice, but it does fall into the category of critique.
Not quite, Matthew. Everyone here would disagree with you on that one. What happened to EL James most definitely was bullying. You can try and pass it off as critiquing if you want, but it was bullying and it doesn’t belong in any kind of author interview, whether it’s online or not. If that sort of thing happened on a blog tour, you can bet that the blog tour host or organization or both would ban the people harassing the author. If it were on TV, same thing. Just because it was on Twitter, doesn’t mean it’s somehow OK. And if you come here thinking you’re going to convince us that harassing an author like that in an interview is alright because it’s “critiquing”, you are sadly mistaken, my friend. No one here is buying it.
I agree with Johnny. If you want to leave a mean-spirited “critique” of an author’s work, do it on your own blog or in a review. It’s not appropriate in a direct interview with the author whether or not the interview is in person or online.
Very well said. Despite everything, E L James pioneered the self-publishing world for females that wanted to write about sex, love and alternate lifestyles! I did read her books and enjoyed each one of them. And then I wrote some of my own and hit a list. So I have nothing but respect for the lady and she did not deserve the nastiness and orchestrated personal attack she received by people that are most likely jealous of her status and accomplishments.
I don’t think anyone deserves bullying and abuse no matter how bad their writing is. I think she was lynched. The bullies and abusers disrupted and derailed her chat and prevented her fans from having access to it. They acted swiftly and in concert and it amounted to censorship by bully. Shouldn’t have happened. If an author sets herself up for this by using Twitter, well, then, something is wrong with Twitter and something is wrong with the bullies and abusers that surfaced to attack her. Not with the author. She offered the public an opportunity. She has millions and millions of satisfied and supportive readers. She did not deserve the hostile, vicious, sarcastic questions anymore than she deserved the obscenities. No one is justified in viciously attacking a writer whom they think is a bad writer. The idea is absurd. If you don’t think a writer is a good writer, fine, don’t read the work. As for all this talk about how “poorly” she writes, how do you explain that she is one of the most successful writers of modern times? Could it be that she is very effective and consistent in providing a readable pedestrian style that a lot of people enjoy very much? She’s no one book wonder. Her loyal readers have supported her through four books. —- Regardless, she is blameless with regard to what happened. She extended an invitation. The blame for the disaster lies with those who attacked her — with their anti-social and ugly behavior. I repeat: it was an internet lynching.
Twitter is allowing ISIS to recruit followers via their network. If they won’t even crack down and turn in terrorists, do you think they give a damn about this situation? The answer is clearly no. Yes the bullies are at fault for the behavior, and Twitter is to blame for allowing it.
If that’s true, then that should be reported to the government because that becomes a national security issue. Department of Homeland Security will put an end to that real quick.
It’s been on ABC news and other networks.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/officials-facebook-twitter-reporting-isis-messages/story?id=32164079
That’s bad. Twitter needs to do something about that. Dealing with bullies is one thing, but when it becomes a danger to our national security, something really needs to be done.
Well said, Anne. Thank you for all you do.
Bravo to this site and to author Anne Rice. I hope more authors will step forward and speak out against this ridiculous online bullying.
This is only my opinion… but there is a part of me that still believes that the success of the “Grey” books is related to a post-feminism, “Cinderella Complex” dimension that few are touching on. Newsweek featured a cover article on bondage and women, going back to “The Story of O” from the 1950’s, the notion of surrender, the fantasy of seduction, which to me is different from force.
I felt the “Shades” book is sort of the female equivalent of a comic book movie. One unrealistic character wears a cape and has superpowers. Christian Grey can play like concert pianist, oversee a Fortune 500 conglomerate and flies a helicopter. Warren Buffet can’t do all of that, but Grey can.
So, I’m not E.L. James’s reader, and it doesn’t matter. She has millions who love her work. Good for her! She does not deserve this horrid abuse.
A lot of the online bullying, the corrosive, vitriolic reviews, seem to flourish in the romance genre.
What I find troubling, is that there is a childish, angry insistence from romance blogger/reviewers that heroines be “kick-a*ss.” They almost seem to stomp their feet in rage like a toddler if the heroine doesn’t suit them, e.g.,“Watch out! I’m going to get mad if I don’t get my way.”
It doesn’t matter if the heroine is in a historical, contemporary or paranormal romance, she (the heroine) must be confident and act with decisiveness. The instant a heroine shows any insecurity, she is dubbed a Mary Sue or Too-Stupid-To-Live.
The female lead in “Grey,” Anastasia, is naïve, and probably viewed as a Mary Sue by these trolls, who lack depth and compassion. It’s probably why their own novels read hollow, flat and one-dimensional… because they don’t experience the full range of human emotion.
The heroine must reflect who the reviewer is. Right? And she (the blogger/reviewer) sees herself as smart, kick-a*s and powerful, who can decimate people with her all-knowing snark. She anoints herself as feminism incarnate and exercises her First Amendment rights.
So there is some narcissism at work here. These nasty blogger/reviewers attract people of the same ilk and their social media patter becomes a Mean Girl putdown spree.
Some romance authors, too cowed to write a dimensional, insecure heroine, perpetuate shallow characters that seem to suit the nasty blogger-reviewers. Ergo, there is a tyranny to their reviews, and yes, I suspect the majority are female authors who either don’t sell well or who are self-published and obscure.
Experts call the trolls “dark tetrads.” They’re great at snark and attacks, but lack the decency and depth to write fiction that’s memorable or lasting. In that respect, they’re to be pitied, as are their families and friends who likely endure aspects of their narcissistic personalities. Can you imagine having to sit next to such a person at a conference and listen to their petty insults about other people? Who has time for that? Junior high school girls show more maturity.
There is nothing edifying or meaningful in these blogs or commentary. As a writer, I think it’s unethical for me to post a review of another writer’s work. I exercise the Thumper/Bambi philosophy, “if you don’t have anything good to say, say nothing at all.” The Internet’s becoming a cesspool, and I have no desire to stir the sewage. Social media is also a huge time-waster.
As an informed consumer, I can either read a Peter Travers review of a film and be entertained, and get a better sense of the movie – or read some random comment that is coarse, riddled with misspellings and tells me absolutely nothing about the plot or performances. Travers is opinionated, yes, and he’s outspoken. He can even insult a film, but the man has credentials. He’ll admit to his own bias. Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert were a marvel to watch decades ago. They could heatedly disagree but never resort to gutter language. Ebert would even later admit to a certain love for Siskel.
It’s called tolerance. Respect.
The blogger/reviewers who post snarky book reviews aren’t as brilliant as they think they are, and their reviews are more about them than the actual book.
Sure wish Amazon and Goodreads would install filters that would allow thoughtful criticism that engages readers, instead of encouraging pointless scrawls from a bathroom stall.
Good post. Very informative and helpful. Appreciate it.
Thank you, Anne. You have my sincerest admiration, not only for your writing accomplishments, but for taking on this issue.
Thanks for posting the additional links in your article. I will be reposting the article on my FB page. I appreciate the work you do. I support you.
What happened to EL James was an internet lynching.
We are all sick of disruption and censorship by bully.
I doubt Ms. James gives a rip about what a bunch of loser turds like Jenny Trout and her hand holding bullies say or think. Millions of real people love Ms. James’ books and they made a movie of it so I am sure she can laugh all the way to the bank. Ms. James has accomplished way more and far surpassed anything that the worthless Trout woman and all of the amazon bullies will ever do. All a gang of jealous thugs can do is run their dirty mouths but they accomplish nothing. JT is a lonely, fat slob who will do anything to get noticed. She will always wish and want for something that she will never have. She respects no one and therefore no one respects her.
Doesn’t matter to me whether a person is overweight or not. In 2003 before I underwent a gastric bypass, I was 265 pounds (I’m 5’2″ tall). I don’t believe in ridiculing people due to their weight. One deeply disheartening aspect of the James lynching was that so many small minded bloggers or journalists applauded it, as if it were “news” that a mega famous author has been slammed for her “poor writing,” when in fact it was an orchestrated stunt pulled off by small group of bullies who in no way represented the enormous worldwide reader response to El James and her extraordinarily popular books. The whole thing brought out the dark side of human nature and the “danger” of the internet. But I continue to believe, as I’ve said before, that the tide is turning. People are fed up with this kind of trash. We’ll see positive change in the future.
I wondered if this would be covered.
What gets me is Chuck himself tried defending James (herself not her books) and I gotta wonder who exactly it was that made him back down?
Either way, from another female, you did good Chuck.
What if E.L. James had been any poor female author? I can’t help be wonder.
Toxic people thrive on drama and negativity, and relish the attention they get from it. Such is the behavior of the bully club on twitter.
Just catching up. I noticed the Jenny Trout comment on E.L. James during that Twitter event and I just rolled my eyes. I expected it. I’m glad I come here and read these posts because at least I know I’m not paranoid about one thing in particular. And that is that the same names, like Jenny Trout, Katie Babs, and some that fall under the radar like “Sunita” and “Sirius” are always there whenever there is an example of bullying on the Internet. But bullying is bullying whether it is aggressive or passive aggressive. The latter is often the most dangerous.
Yeah, it’s always the same names. Interesting, isn’t it?
They can write rude comments to her, all they want. In the end E.L James is laughing all the way to the bank.