becquerel nickolai: 'Hunger Games' Fans Have Spoken: Jennifer Lawrence Isn't Too Curvy

Thursday, March 29, 2012

'Hunger Games' Fans Have Spoken: Jennifer Lawrence Isn't Too Curvy

'Jennifer Lawrence is the perfect Katniss Everdeen!' one MTV News commenter writes.
By Elizabeth Lancaster

Jennifer Lawrence in "The Hunger Games"
Photo: Lionsgate

After devouring the books and flooding movie theaters, "Hunger Games" fans have become fiercely loyal to the actors who embodied their favorite characters. And those die-hards are not taking kindly to suggestions that Jennifer Lawrence is too curvy to play Katniss Everdeen.

Much of the backlash stems from New York Times film critic Manohla Dargis' review of the film, in which she wrote: "A few years ago Ms. Lawrence might have looked hungry enough to play Katniss, but now, at 21, her seductive, womanly figure makes a bad fit for a dystopian fantasy about a people starved into submission."

On Wednesday, when MTV News checked in with "Hunger Games" experts for their feelings on the subject, many of you took to our comments section and our Twitter to let us know just how much you disagree with Dargis' take on the lead actress.

MTV.com reader DavidB presented this quote from Suzanne Collins' book, in which Katniss describes her own body: "I stand straight, and while I'm thin, I'm strong. The meat and plants from the woods combined with the exertion it took to get them have given me a healthier body than most of those I see around me."

Another commenter, GrantGibbs1, wrote, "Jennifer Lawrence is the perfect Katniss Everdeen! She's not even fat??? First racist comments now weight issues," the commenter added, in reference to the issues some moviegoers have had over Rue being played by a black actress.

For many fans and readers, it's not about accuracy, but respect and admiration for Jennifer Lawrence as an actress, as well as defending young women from the pressures that create body issues. On Twitter, @PromiseKidrauhl told us Lawrence "was perfectly picked to play Katniss," while @valvdg wrote, "As if young women didn't have enough weight issues."

It's not too late to make your voice heard: What do you think about the controversy over Jennifer Lawrence's body?

Check out everything we've got on "The Hunger Games."

For young Hollywood news, fashion and "Twilight" updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com.

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