Gwen Sebastian Hoping to Win on 50 Shades of Grey, Bible Controversy

Gwen Sebastian is taking issue with Jonathan Denby, a hotel owner in England who replaced copies of the Bible in the Damson Dene Hotel’s nightstands with copies of the risque, but popular, fiction book 50 Shades of Grey.

It’s not that the former ‘The Voice’ contestant is in league with the thousands of readers who think the book is too risque for the shelves. Rather, Sebastian simply feels that Bibles in hotel rooms can help people who are searching for comfort. In fact, she even wrote her latest single, ‘Met Him in a Motel Room,’ about it.

Sebastian’s tune tells the story of a woman who is contemplating suicide, but decides against it after reading from the Bible in the drawer of a motel room nightstand. With the support of her record label, Flying Island Entertainment, Sebastian shipped several copies of her single to Denby’s hotel in the U.K.

“I’ve read and really liked Fifty Shades of Grey, but I don’t understand why he would replace the all-time bestseller with a popular bestseller,” said the country singer, who is currently out on tour with her ‘The Voice’ coach Blake Shelton.

Denby has defended his decision to place 50 Shades of Grey in his hotel’s rooms in lieu of the religious work, saying that he thinks it is “wholly inappropriate” to force scriptures on people.

“Because everybody is reading Fifty Shades of Grey, we thought it would be a hospitable thing to do,” he explained, according to TheFW. “To have this available for our guests, especially if some of them were a little bit shy about buying it because of its reputation.”

As you can imagine, Denby’s decision has been met with plenty of harsh criticism. He has told the press that he didn’t throw away any of the Bibles — they are available at the front desk for any guests who wish to ask for a copy.

So far, there’s no word on whether he’ll give guests the chance to stumble upon copies of Sebastian’s God-inspired single.