It is no secret that Hollywood and pretty privilege go hand in hand. Not only are Hollywood’s most successful actors extremely talented, but they are also known for their good looks.
It is common for people to follow and support their celebrity crushes, while also forgetting that there is a disconnect between the actor and the character. And recently, there’s been an influx of people willing to defend the crimes of villainous characters because of the actor’s charisma or appeal.
Most recently, Tom Blythe has won over the hearts of The Hunger Games’s fandom through his portrayal of the infamous dystopian dictator, President Corionlanus Snow, in the new prequel, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. In this role, Blythe depicts the early life of the future president and how he came to be the brutal ruler he is in the original trilogy.
Throughout the film, Snow cheats to help his tribute, Lucy Gray Baird, win the Hunger Games, he supports the murder of innocent children for the sake of the games, is responsible for the death of three people and ultimately drives himself to insanity by the end of the movie.
There is no doubt that Blythe delivered an outstanding, potentially award-winning, performance, but the broader audience’s draw to his obvious charm has taken away from Snow’s character and storyline.
In the past weeks, there has been a surge of fan edits of Blythe in his portrayal of Snow throughout numerous social media platforms, TikTok being the most popular. These videos of Blythe are often paired with a booming comment section where explicit or sometimes even insensitive phrases show fans forgiving Snow’s murderous actions because he looked attractive doing them. It is one thing to develop a celebrity crush on Blythe, but it is another to completely dismiss Snow’s inhumane choices throughout the movie solely because of his looks.
Blythe’s rising popularity on TikTok mirrors a similar instance from 2020, known as “Draco Tok.” Taking place within the fans of the Harry Potter series, similar edits and videos were created of Tom Felton in his role as Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films. Felton’s allure in his young adult years distracted fans from Malfoy’s unmistakably toxic personality.
In fact, many fans seemed to embrace the toxicity. Taking “Draco Tok” to the extreme, many obsessive fans began to write fictional, sometimes vulgar, stories about Malfoy, in which his harmful behavior was portrayed as desirable.
There is no harm in watching a movie and falling in love with the stunning actor or actress that appears on the big screen. Hollywood hires conventionally attractive people for that exact reason. But, it is important to remember that characters are just characters, and toxic, harmful behavior is inexcusable regardless of the person’s appearance.