This Dance Ain’t for Everybody – Only the Sexy People
(it takes courage and class to push it real good)
I recently came across this TikTok clip (hilariously, while going down an internet rabbit hole about mafia men), and it bugged me by way of reminding me of similar thoughts I had about Jamie Dornan when Fifty Shades of Grey came out. Michele Morrone claims he has no regrets about doing 365 Days, just as Jamie Dornan once insisted about Fifty Shades. And yet, both men, when interviewed, have looked terrified – visibly bracing for the shame of having starred in something female-coded and derided as trash.
For a thrilling moment, Morrone appears ready to stand by his steamy claim to fame. But then he immediately yields to patriarchal gatekeepers with stuttering qualifying statements, uncomfortable body language, and pained facial expressions. The interviewer, for his part, was coyly disingenuous—it was as if it was all a show to ritually absolve Morrone’s career of his involvement with 365 Days. But shouldn’t simply acting well accomplish that? And why should this farcical stance be necessary anyway? These films made a lot of money for them, and that’s because they were extremely popular with what I would imagine is the primary fan base for at least one of them. It seems like an insult to fans—and to themselves—to do anything but confidently stand by their participation in something that was so significant for them, and so popular with readers and moviegoers.
This dynamic speaks to a larger issue: the persistent disparagement of female pleasures and female-coded media, while male-coded pleasures are decidedly not in a position to feel snobby about the girly ones. After all, how much intellectual and masculine rigor does it really take to enjoy Fast & Furious? Or The Avengers, or Game of Thrones? To be fair, Jamie Dornan has given notice to film critic elitism in the past, suggesting awareness of the problem is at least on his horizon. Perhaps their embarrassment stems from internalized misogyny, and fear of being perceived as less masculine for participating in female-oriented projects? (And if so, I would like to introduce both guys to a man called Prince.) But by appearing embarrassed to even be associated with these films, both men negate any positive comments they might make, sending a clear message they don’t truly value their audiences.
This blatant cowardice does not give off leading man vibes, and it’s not sexy. Man up, boys. Or to borrow your own words: grow up. Grow up! I have not consumed enough Adderall and whiskey to address that statement by these men today. But if they need a lesson in courage, perhaps they could look to their fellow actresses who master this type of vulnerability on a daily basis—such as Dakota Johnson, who did not throw her fans under the bus whenever she spoke about performing in these films. Or consider Eiko Matsuda in In the Realm of the Senses.
Her co-star walked away with acclaim while she was branded a porn actress and blacklisted.
Would it be prestigious enough for Morrone and Dornan to do an “Art” film like that?
Maybe it’s not a fair comparison—in that film, the sex was real, and Tatsuya Fuji exposed himself in the fullest way possible.
Incidentally, from what I know of men, and Italian men in particular, I struggle with the idea that moderately exposing their torsos on camera and simulating eroticism for voyeurs was the actual problem in this context.
Jamie Dornan claims he dodged the spotlight to protect his family from the Fifty Shades media circus, which sounds plausible until he tacks on a withering insult aimed at lowbrow entertainment primarily enjoyed by women. To be fair, he also derides male-oriented junk entertainment, but if your entire job is to entertain the masses, sneering at the tastes of either while performing it is gauche. Why should an audience want to watch anything you’re in, knowing that you think what they love is beneath you?
And this is not a defense or comment on literary or artistic quality in 365 Days or Fifty Shades—that’s a separate conversation, not relevant to the problem in hand, so to speak. There would be nothing wrong with admitting to doing it for the paycheck—we don’t need to be lied to when we have eyes and ears. It’s also fine and dandy to admit to not personally loving the script or the genre—if they didn’t need to insult their audience in the process.
It’s a shame they couldn’t be gentlemen about it.
Morrone says he wouldn’t do this kind of film again—now that he’s grown, of course.
But maybe if they made a sequel in Sicily, he’d consider it—he could have all the women wear his personally designed bathing suits.
Further Reading
Jamie Dornan discusses media harassment and Fifty Shades backlash – Hollywood Reporter, 2024
Carolyn Cox, Jamie Dornan Visited a Sex Dungeon and Was a Total Butt About It – The Mary Sue, 2015
