Hilarious 11-Year-Old Scandalizes School By Dressing Up As Christian Grey For World Book Day
Yesterday was World Book Day, and children all around the U.K. reportedly celebrated by taking part in book-themed activities and dressing up as characters from books. One kid, however, was not, because he was forced to sit out from the activities as punishment for showing up dressed as Christian Grey from Fifty Shades of Grey.
According to the Daily Mail, hilarious 11-year-old Liam Scholes showed up at school wearing a gray business suit and carrying a black eye mask and a pair of tiny cable ties. The cable ties were barely big enough to tie a person’s fingers together, but the idea came across anyway. It was clear enough that the school called his mother and said he would not be participating in World Book Day activities or be included in any of the pictures, because it was inappropriate for an 11-year-old to show up to school dressed as the hero of a sex book.
I mean, I can see where that would be inappropriate. But I also think it’s hilarious. (And I showed up at school dressed as Jessica Rabbit when I was seven, so I don’t think I have any room to throw stones.)
Liam’s mother, who is a teacher at a different school, said she knew about the idea and thought it was funny.
“We thought it was funny,” she said. “We were walking home from school and he had the idea of going as Christian Grey. At first we laughed it off but the we discussed it with a few friends and saw the funny side and decided it was quite a good costume idea.”
Should an 11-year-old read Fifty Shades of Grey? No, probably not. Liam says he has not read Fifty Shades of Grey or seen the movie, but he knew about it from the advertising and all the media coverage. While many of the Daily Mail‘s commenters don’t seem to believe that a kid could have come up with this idea without having read the book or seen the movie, Liam’s story matches up with my own experience of being an 11-year-old. I walked into a department store the other day, and there was a very large Fifty Shades-theme display–complete with eye masks and riding crops–of OPI nail polish produced as a tie-in to the movie. I’m pretty sure a kid in my town would have to actually be wearing the Fifty Shades eye mask in order to not know what Fifty Shades is.
So, knowing what Fifty Shades is, Liam decided it would be funny to show up at school dressed like Christian Grey. From the photos on the Daily Mail, I think it’s funny too. He just looks so cute in his suit and so proud of the idea. I bet he and his friends got a good laugh out of it before the teachers punished him, and I bet several of the teachers thought it was funny, too. (One of the teachers dressed as Dexter from Dexter, so I can’t imagine that guy was too shocked by the Fifty Shades costume.)
I can just see them in the teachers’ lounge:
“You won’t believe it! Some kid showed up dressed as Christian Grey! I had to give him detention, but LOL.”
“Haha! At least it’s from a book. I have 40 kids dressed as Elsa in my class.”
Aside from having to sit out during World Book Day and getting a dressing-down from his teachers, Liam is not being punished. He might have been disappointed about not getting to take pictures with the class, but at least he’s got himself a story he can tell when he’s older.
Photo: Good Morning Britain
