Since the news that Sam Claflin has been cast in Catching Fire as Finnick was announced, people have not been in an uproar over his acting ability, his talent, emotional depth, or his capacity to believably portray a well-known personality. No, instead of caring about something important that could make or break a character, people are complaining about his looks.

I cannot overstate how incredibly ironic this is given the nature of the Hunger Games Trilogy and the message that it conveys.

Finnick is a character who has many layers to his personality and a lot of emotional baggage to go with it. When did some HG fans get it in their heads that the most important thing about Finnick is how he looks? Some fans are mad about Claflin’s looks, insisting that he’s “ugly” or “doesn’t look the part.” Other, more stupid, fans are mad that he doesn’t have blue eyes and blond hair.

Okay, let’s start with the dumb part since it’s a bit easier to argue with. First of all, Finnick didn’t have blue eyes and blond hair, he had green eyes and bronze hair. Is there a solution to this problem? Why yes, I’m so glad you asked! Colored contacts and hair dye. What a novel concept! I’m fairly certain that people had the same complaints about Jennifer Lawrence when she was first cast as Katniss, but lo and behold, brown hair dye! Oh, the wonders of modern technology and diaminobenzene, among other chemicals.

As far as Claflin’s physical appearance, I am absolutely disgusted by how stupid and mean fans can be. Claflin is by no means ugly, and though he certainly isn’t my type I’m not going to hold that against his acting ability. Admittedly, I have never seen him in anything, but I’m going to hold critique on him until I see him perform as Finnick. He’s not exactly how I pictured Finnick in my head either, but that doesn’t mean that he’s going to play the part poorly.

If you think he’s “too ugly” to play Finnick, do yourself a favor and re-read the series because I’m fairly certain that you missed the point of the dichotomy between the Capitol and the 12 districts. You are exactly the kind of person who would flourish in such a vain society.

I for one am extremely grateful that Lionsgate is focused on talent and not finding Abercrombie models to play all of their characters. This isn’t Twilight, people. There are more important things than physical appearance, even for a character that is depicted as being a human Adonis. Pardon my tone, but I have absolutely no tolerance for this particular brand of fanboy/girl idiocy. Get over the fact that you may or may not find this actor attractive; there are far more important things to consider when casting than your “type.”