Why Dakota Johnson’s Parents Were Against Her Doing ‘Fifty Shades Of Grey’ Movie

Dakota Johnson’s parents, Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, have been against her taking the lead on the Fifty Shades franchise since the beginning, but that clearly did not stop the Fifty Shades Darker star from taking that risky leap in her acting career.

According to news.com.au, Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith did not want Dakota Johnson to take on the role of Anastasia Steele in the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise. Although Melanie has her fair share of risqué roles in the 70s and 80s, she was uncomfortable seeing her daughter bare it all in Fifty Shades. The outlet added that Dakota’s father, Don, even advised her against taking on the project.

As veteran actors in Hollywood, Don and Melanie knew that Dakota would be subject to criticism. Given that the Fifty Shades Darker star’s favorite word is tender, she even has it tattoed on her arm, it is only natural for her parents to worry if she could handle the pressure. But Dakota told the site that she’s much tougher than she seems.

“I think I am equally as sensitive as I am tough. I just feel things more than the average human maybe,” she explained.

In spite of Don and Melanie’s objections, Dakota Johnson said that her parents were left with no choice but to support her in the end.

“When it comes to taking on this role, they didn’t have a choice. I was pretty adamant,” she recalled.

Although the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise has just released its second installment, Fifty Shades Darker, Dakota shared that her parents have not seen any of the movies. Although she wanted Don and Melanie to see it, Dakota admitted that FSOG was “pretty inappropriate” for them.

“I think they would like to be able to see the movies that have put me in this place in my life, but because it’s pretty inappropriate, they haven’t seen them,” she explained.

While Melanie was against the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise, Dakota revealed that her mom was actually the one who taught her to be confident of her own body.

“When I was growing up I was taught that women are beautiful. We should be comfortable with our body and there’s nothing wrong with it, that came from my mother.”

It would be a shame if Melanie Griffith missed Fifty Shades Darker, especially after Dakota Johnson managed to slip in a little surprise for her. During an appearance on the Today show, via Us Weekly, Dakota hinted that she was able to pay homage to her famous mother in her latest film.

“There is a moment — there is a little surprise moment especially for my mom in this movie. I can’t share it! I don’t want to spoil it, but she won’t ever see it. Maybe she’ll see this one specific little clip,” she said.

The site recalled that Dakota got “irritated” and snapped at her mother on the Oscars red carpet when Melanie said that she did not need to see Fifty Shades to know how good of an actress her daughter is.

“All right! You don’t have to see it. Jesus Christ,” Dakota told her mom, clearly frustrated.

However, back in January, Dakota Johnson seemed to have accepted that her parents would never watch any of the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise. She told Glamour that it would be far too uncomfortable for Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith to watch her intimate scenes with Jamie Dornan.

“It’s one thing if a film has one sex scene in it, but with this, a large part of the premise is the arc of their sexual relationship, and I think that’s a little inappropriate for my family to watch.”

Fifty Shades of Darker hits theaters on February 10. Watch the official trailer below.

[Featured Image by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images]