New 'Fault in Our Stars' tagline divides fans

Some 'Fault in Our Stars' fans object to the phrase 'One sick love story' as a tagline for the film adaptation of John Green’s popular young adult novel.

Fans were excited to see the poster released for the film adaptation of John Green’s young adult book “The Fault in Our Stars,” but the excitement of some faded when they saw the tagline for the movie.

The line “One sick love story” appeared below a picture of actors Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort, who portray the two main characters in Green’s novel, Hazel and Augustus, teenagers who meet and fall in love at a cancer support center.

After many fans made their thoughts known about the tagline, Green wrote a statement on his Tumblr about it.

“To the many of you who love it, I say, ‘I did not write the tag line,’” he wrote. “To the many of you who don’t, I say, ‘I did not write the tag line.’… That said, I like the tag line. I found it dark and angry in the same way that Hazel is (at least at times) dark and angry in her humor. I mostly wanted something that said, 'This is hopefully not going to be a gauzy, sentimental love story that romanticizes illness and further spreads the lie that the only reason sick people exist is so that healthy people can learn lessons.' But that’s not a very good tag line. I like the tag line because it says, literally, the sick can also have love stories. Love and joy and romance are not just things reserved for the well.”

Green also said he was very pleased by the poster showing Woodley with the tubes of her oxygen tank, which he called "near unprecedented."

Twitter user Chelsea Quintal was among fans who did not like the tagline. She wrote, "The tagline for the fault in our stars is probably my least favourite tagline to exist." However, user Arowana Flounder was more won over.

“I love it,” she tweeted. “I don't think it makes cancer a joke. It is the essence of a beautiful love story.”

“Fault in Our Stars” is scheduled for release next June.