Social media closes the gap between fans and celebrities. Seeing notable personalities' thoughts on your Facebook news feed, or Twitter timeline, their photos on Instagram and their musings on blogs, fans feel that they're closer to the stars than they usually are.

But while it's an avenue for communication, social media can also do the exact opposite. It's easier to voice out opinions, after all, and in many cases, people take to social media the especially negative comments that they want out of their system.

"50 Shades of Grey" author E.L. James learned the hard way that netizens can be cruel. According to TIME Magazine, she stepped into the Twitter U.K. Headquarters for a Q&A, a likely PR stint to market the release of her latest book, "Grey," and it turned out to be a big disaster.

E! News noted that while many authors get questions from fans asking advice and wondering which parts of the book are hardest to write, the "50 Shades" author got a lot of backlash regarding domestic abuse, glorification of domestic abuse, and even direct hits at the author about her skills in writing.

That's not all. James or her PR team blocked or refused to answer questions pointed at domestic abuse, which got people into a frenzy. Soon, the thin line between a Q&A and an author roast was crossed.

"After the success of "Grey," have you considered re-telling the story from the perspective of someone who can write [?]," asked a Twitter user with the handle @avestal.

Another, with the handle @wolfgangbogdano, asked, "why did you think it was okay to teach young girls that a possessive partner who refuses to hear no was romantic?"

@LiamDrydenEtc asked for help very sarcastically about big gestures, telling James, "I need advice on making a BIG romantic gesture. Should I put a GPS tracker in her phone and make threats if she tries to leave?"

There were also pretty normal stuff: the ones she cared enough to answer, like someone asking her what thing she can never leave home without, or her favorite scene to write, or even the changes she may have wanted to make regarding Ana and Christian's story.

But in the end, people really wanted to know one thing that a Twitter profile called @50shadesabuse beat us to. He asked, "If there's no abuse in your books, why are you unable to defend it to survivors & charities, choosing to block/ignore instead?"

James stuck to answering the less aggravated questions, but the tweets kept on coming. According to Us Magazine, the hashtag used for her Q&A, #AskELJames became the number 1 Twitter trend in the U.S., and second worldwide.

But no matter how nice or cruel the tweets were, it seems that the author still won, considering that she is worth an estimated $58 million, as reported by the Los Angeles Times, and has a growing franchise despite critics telling her she has "weak" writing skills. She just recently released the spinoff for "50 Shades," simply titled "Grey," and the story is told from the young millionaire dominant's point of view.