It was 2012. The world was collectively losing its mind over a book about a brooding billionaire and a girl who constantly talked about her "inner goddess." Fifty Shades of Grey wasn't just a bestseller; it was an unavoidable cultural smog. You couldn’t go to a grocery store without seeing that silver tie on a book cover.
Then Gilbert Gottfried stepped into a recording booth.
He didn't bring a velvet voice or a smoldering intensity. He brought that unmistakable, ear-piercing, "Iago from Aladdin" screech. And honestly? It was the best thing that ever happened to E.L. James’s prose. The Gilbert Gottfried 50 Shades of Grey video didn't just parody a book; it became a permanent fixture of internet history that people still hunt for today.
The Reading That Changed Everything
We’ve all heard the voice. It sounds like a blender full of gravel being shaken by a very angry bird. When CollegeHumor (and the short-lived site Jest) released the video of Gilbert reading the book's most graphic passages, they knew exactly what they were doing.
The juxtaposition was perfect. You had these sentences—written to be the height of erotic tension—being shouted by a man who sounds like he’s trying to sell you a used car in a hurricane.
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Why It Actually Worked
Most parodies of the book were a bit "one-note." They’d just mock the BDSM or the writing style. But Gilbert? He leaned into the sensuality of it in the most hideous way possible. When he screams the word "clitoris," it isn't just funny. It’s a physical experience. You feel it in your teeth.
- The Contrast: The book takes itself incredibly seriously. Gilbert does not.
- The Delivery: He pauses in all the wrong places. He elongates vowels until they snap.
- The Absurdity: Hearing him say "holy fuck" while maintaining that squinty-eyed grimace is comedy gold.
People often forget that at the time, the Fifty Shades phenomenon was being treated like serious literature by some and a moral crisis by others. Gilbert basically walked into the room and popped the balloon. He reminded everyone that, at its core, the writing was often just plain silly.
Gilbert Gottfried 50 Shades of Grey: A Viral Legacy
The video wasn't just a flash in the pan. It’s one of those rare internet artifacts that gets rediscovered every few years. Why? Because the book's legacy is tied to the movie franchise now, and the movies—let's be real—can be a bit dry.
Whenever someone finds the "official" audiobook too boring, someone inevitably drops a link to the Gilbert version in the comments. It’s the unofficial antidote to the "mommy porn" craze.
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It Wasn't Just One Video
While the CollegeHumor/Jest clip is the "holy grail," Gilbert actually revisited the bit. He knew it was a fan favorite. On his own podcast, Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing Colossal Podcast, and during various talk show appearances, he would occasionally slip back into that "erotic" narrator persona.
He even had a "Fifty Shades of Gilbert" segment on the Tom Barnard Podcast later on. He knew the bit had legs. It wasn't just a one-off joke; it became part of his late-career identity. He was the guy who could make anything—even the most graphic erotica—sound like a comedy routine.
The Technical Brilliance of the Parody
It’s easy to dismiss what Gilbert did as just "yelling." But if you watch the video closely, there’s real craft there. He’s reacting to the text. When the prose gets particularly purple—like when Anastasia Steele talks about her "subconscious" doing backflips—Gilbert’s voice hits a frequency that shouldn't be humanly possible.
He treats the "inner goddess" lines with the same gravitas most actors give Shakespeare. Except, you know, with more phlegm.
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The production of the video was simple. Just Gilbert in a dark room with a microphone. No fancy costumes. No Christian Grey-style penthouse. Just a man and his "sensual" reading. That simplicity is why it holds up. It doesn't rely on 2012-era memes. It relies on the timeless comedy of a very loud man saying very inappropriate things.
Beyond the Laughs: Why We Still Watch
Gilbert passed away in 2022, which adds a layer of bittersweetness to the clip now. It represents a specific era of the internet—before everything was over-produced and designed for TikTok algorithms. It was just a funny guy doing a funny thing because the world was being a bit too serious.
Honestly, the Gilbert Gottfried 50 Shades of Grey reading is probably the most "honest" version of that story. It strips away the pretension and leaves you with exactly what the book is: a collection of wild sentences that sound insane when spoken aloud.
If you haven't seen it in a while, it’s worth a rewatch. Just... maybe don't wear headphones. Your eardrums will thank you.
What to Do Next
If you're looking to dive deeper into the world of Gilbert's legendary "unfiltered" comedy, here’s how to spend your next hour:
- Search for the "Aristocrats" joke: If you think the Fifty Shades reading was edgy, you haven't seen his performance in the documentary The Aristocrats. It’s a masterclass in pushing boundaries.
- Listen to his Podcast: Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing Colossal Podcast is a treasure trove of Hollywood history and raunchy humor.
- Watch his Roasts: His performance at the Roast of Roseanne or Hugh Hefner (where he famously did the first 9/11 joke just weeks after the event) shows his fearless approach to comedy.
Gilbert might be gone, but his screech lives on. And as long as people are writing over-the-top romance novels, we’ll always have his voice in the back of our heads, screaming the "sexy" parts.