'Fifty Shades of Grey' Movie: Charlie Hunnam to Quit Christian Grey Role After Petition Boosts to 85,000 Signatures? [PHOTOS]
The online petition against Charlie Hunnam continues on Change.org. To date, the number of signatures has reached a whopping 85,000. Is this a high number enough to kick Charlie off the set of "Fifty Shades of Grey?" Well, haters of Hunnam are hoping so but that won't likely be the case.
Early in September, Author E.L. James happily announced the official lead stars for the film adaptation of her best-selling erotica novel. Dakota Johnson of "The Social Network" and Charlie Hunnam of "Sons of Anarchy" had officially nabbed the lead roles of Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey respectively. While some fans were pleased with James' choices, others were obviously not.
A day after the casting announcement was made, an online petition sparked on Change.org demanding that producers of "Fifty Shades" replace their chosen lead stars. Rather than having Charlie Hunnam take on the part of Christian Grey, fans demanded "White Collar's" Matt Bomer play the part of the 27-year old wealthy entrepreneur.
However, producers have stayed firm in their decision despite the outcry. As for Hunnam, the lead star has been given added security in the hopes of protecting him from angry fans. Sources claim that with all the hate against him, Charlie is already "regretting" the decision of having accepted the part of Christian Grey. With the 85,000 people having signed the petition, reports claim Charlie is close to quitting.
If E.L. James hadn't spoken up about the rumours since last week, the author sure knows how to shoot gossip down via her Twitter account. Early Saturday, E.L. James sent out a photo with the caption, "Guess who...," on her Twitter account. Apparently, the photo was of Hunnam's tattooed arm for his character Jax in "Sons of Anarchy."
From the photo alone, it suggests Hunnam and James had met up to talk about the upcoming film adaptation. Earlier reports did state production would commence this month. Well, for Hunnam-haters hoping he'd drop out of the part, too bad because that isn't close to happening even with the 85,000 signatures on the online petition.
Check out the slideshow to see more of Charlie Hunnam, the Christian Grey of "Fifty Shades of Grey."