Fifty Shades of Grey, the nation-sweeping erotic novel that's notable for being so popular among adult women that it has been dubbed "mommy porn," seems prime fodder for mocking. And the internet hasn't disappointed. Recently, parodies of 50 Shades of Grey — which chronicles the steamy sexual awakening of a virginal post-grad who falls for a kinky older businessman — have cropped up featuring the talents of Disney starlet Selena Gomez, Twilight's Kristen Stewart, and, of course, the cast of Saturday Night Live. Here's a look at the five best:
1. Funny or Die's Selena Gomez bit
Selena Gomez, the 19-year-old Disney darling best known for her work on the series Wizards of Waverly Place, sheds a "bit of her good girl image" by starring in a 50 Shades of Grey parody for comedy website Funny or Die, says Amanda Hasaka at Celebuzz. While the young actress sits engrossed in E.L. James' steamy book, a grotesque painter, played by comedian Nick Kroll knocks on her door, "coughing, picking belly button lint, and looking all around disgusting," says E! Online. None of that matters to Gomez's character, however, because she's so charged by the erotic novel that she's caught up in "a world of Twilight-like longing stares."
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2. Kristen Stewart's reading on MTV
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The "best tidbit" about 50 Shades of Grey is its origin as Twilight fan fiction, says Jen Yamato at Movieline. So it's at once fitting, awesome, and creepy to hear Kristen Stewart, the Twilight star herself, read some of the naughtiest passages from the novel aloud. The actress was drafted by MTV's Josh Horowitz, who asked Stewart and her Snow White and the Huntsman co-stars Charlize Theron and and Chris Hemsworth to do the reading during a press junket for the upcoming blockbuster. Theron proved "quite the ham" with her reading, says Tracy E. Gilchrist at She Wired. "But the money shot is Stewart questioning the meaning of 'sliding fingers.'"
3. The Saturday Night Live parody
"Forget breakfast in bed or a new washing machine," says Amelia McDonnell-Parry at The Frisky. What mom really wants for Mother's Day is peace and quiet so she can… enjoy… 50 Shades of Grey — or at least that's the crux of Saturday Night Live's parody of the novel. The sketch featured unsuspecting kids armed with traditional Mother's Day gifts walking in on their mothers pleasuring themselves while reading the book. It was "one of the best skits ever in the history of the show," says Suzanne Murray at The Stir. "Send your own kiddies out of the room and watch."
4. Gilbert Gottfried's fake audio book
"I could go my whole life without hearing Grey's raunchiest lines narrated in Gottfried's nails-in-chalkboard voice," says Erin Strecker at Entertainment Weekly. Alas, an admittedly funny parody of an audio book recording for the sexy novel featuring the grating comedian does exist, thanks to comedy website Jest. It's incredibly disturbing — but "so wrong it's funny," says Jamie Peck at Crushable. "And isn't that the greatest aphrodisiac of all?"
5. Ellen DeGeneres' talk show sketch
Also winning laughs for her reading of the blush-worthy 50 Shades prose is Ellen DeGeneres, who shared some lines from the novel on her talk show. "Of course it's daytime television, so she censored as she read," says Jenni Maier at Crushable. "And naturally that only made it more funny." The bit played perfectly into the naughty root of the book's popularity, says Linda Sharps at The Stir: It's mortifying to be caught reading it — "which is why it's so incredibly hilarious to watch Ellen DeGeneres do it."
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