Remember when people were all up in arms about the casting of twelve-year old African-American child actor Amandla Stenberg as Rue in The Hunger Games because the character "wasn't supposed to be" black? Well, it seems that the same adorably incompetent readers/racists are turning out in full force to protest the casting of Grey's Anatomy actor Jesse Williams as Catching Fire/Mockingjay heartthrob Finnick Odair… and Williams hasn't even been given the role yet. But hey, it's never too early to roll out the red carpet for racial hatred, right, internet?
It seems that the controversy started a-brewing when a Hunger Games fan launched a "Jesse For Finnick" campaign on Tumblr and Twitter. Although she/he probably assumed that the photos of a shirtless Williams would spawn the letter-writing campaigns and lady boners of thousands, it seems that a bunch of Hunger Games fans are not so on board with casting a person of color in the role: in addition to referring to Williams as a "disgusting stupid black dude," commentators have also suggested that Williams doesn't have the "disheveled medium long luscious Golden blonde hair [and] ocean blue colored eyes" and, um, Caucasian-ness required for the role (for the record, the character is described as having "tan" or "golden" skin, "bronze-colored" hair, and green eyes):
I'm sorry but unless I read the wrong book, isn't Finnick Caucasian? By tanned skin Collins meant his skin was darkened from the sun (swimming/fishing) not that he is of a darker skin ethnicity… Don't get me wrong, this guy is great just completely wrong for this role.
I think that Jesse Wiliams just won't work. Finnick Odair in my eyes is Tall, young, disheveled medium long luscious Golden blonde hair, ocean blue colored eyes, he has a glowing tan, washboard abs, and wears almost no clothes, at the same times carries a trident. That is the guy i wan't to see as Finnick. For example PERFECT GUY is Ian Somerhalder. Color him blonde and throw in some contacts and wala you have Finnick Odair!
As a fan of both Hunger Games and really, really, really good-looking people, this offends me to no end. Guys, no one is making these movies to exactly match the precious little snowflake images of the stories and characters you've built in your heads. They're being made because they rake in large amounts of money, and that's going to happen whether the producers cast Ian Somerhalder or Jesse Williams or the dog from Frasier in the role.
Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the first and foremost prerequisite of playing Finnick that you're supposed to be… hot? Like, really, really, really hot? If so, I have a very hard time believing that, unless you are a white supremacist and/or my friend's racist dog, you don't agree that the gentleman pictured above fits the bill. His biceps have biceps. Just saying.
