It’s rated 18 – but the Barbican today screened controversial erotic thriller Fifty Shades Darker to a room full of babies.
The movie was shown at the centre’s parent and baby screening club this morning, and attracted a sell-out audience.
To be eligible to see the film, tots had to be under a year old.
That means none of them were born when the Barbican got critics hot under the collar in 2015 by airing the film’s predecessor, Fifty Shades of Grey, at the same toddlers’ session.
The club is open to mums, dads and babies aged 12 months and under. Its website promises “higher lighting” and “lower sound” to make it a baby-friendly environment.
At its Leicester Square premiere on Thursday, protesters clamied the film normalised “abuse” and accused lead character Christian Grey, played by Jamie Dornan, of being a “rapist”.
And two years ago, parent groups were furious at the Barbican’s decision to show Fifty Shades of Grey, with one saying: “We feel that to put a very young child through this experience just isn’t necessary.”
The Barbican retorted: “Parent and baby screenings are very popular among a loyal audience. We have found that generally they want to be able to see the films that everyone is talking about.”
The next parent and baby screening is of Moonlight on Monday next week. It has a relatively child-friendly certificate of 15.
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