i refuse to apologize to a figment of someone's imagination
If I hear one more person defend a disliked character by saying that Friend A from the character the canon is from likes disliked character, I will scream. it doesn't matter if the entire WORLD from that canon adores the disliked character. No, it doesn't matter that Sakura and Naruto love Sasuke. They are not real people. It doesn't matter if everyone in Gryffindor loves Harry Potter. NO ONE IN THAT WORLD IS REAL. THEY ARE ALL CREATED. THEY ARE PIECES OF THE AUTHOR'S PSYCHE. Therefore, the only thing you are saying is, in essence: "The creator believes this character is likeable, therefore, you should like them."
I can understand the character defense if it's used in a fanfic sense and the person is saying you shouldn't have the established friends and lovers of the disliked character hate them. But, to use as a defense against people who find that character unlikable? What do we care how make-believe people care about another make-believe person? And this defense disregards meta altogether, ignoring that characters can be badly-made and obnoxious, not because they're bad people, but because they are poorly written and their place in the plot doesn't work.
I can understand the character defense if it's used in a fanfic sense and the person is saying you shouldn't have the established friends and lovers of the disliked character hate them. But, to use as a defense against people who find that character unlikable? What do we care how make-believe people care about another make-believe person? And this defense disregards meta altogether, ignoring that characters can be badly-made and obnoxious, not because they're bad people, but because they are poorly written and their place in the plot doesn't work.