Amazon has issued a warning to fans of The Summer I Turned Pretty after online bullying targeted the cast of the hit romance drama.
“The show isn’t real but the people playing the characters are,” read a message shared Wednesday across the show’s official Instagram, TikTok and X accounts. The post included a video graphic declaring: “The summer we started acting normal online.”
The show isn’t real but the people playing the characters are pic.twitter.com/csqsKEB2v9
— The Summer I Turned Pretty (@thesummeritp) August 26, 2025
The reminder follows growing hostility from fans divided between “team Conrad” and “team Jeremiah,” referencing the show’s central love triangle between Belly (Lola Tung) and brothers Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno).
In July, ahead of the season three premiere, the show’s X account had already circulated a “PSA for the Summer community,” outlining a “zero tolerance policy for bullying and hate speech.”
Now in its eighth episode of an 11-part final season, the Amazon Prime Video series adapted from Jenny Han’s novels has built a large, vocal following. But cast and creators have increasingly addressed the toxic edge of fan behavior.
“When people have an attachment to the characters, they want to see it come together at the end,” Tung told Teen Vogue. “But people get a little scary about it. Please don’t threaten to kill someone if something doesn’t go your way – I promise you, it’s not that serious.”
Casalegno, asked by The New York Times about playing “one of the internet’s most hated boyfriends,” admitted he avoids Instagram. “Amazon did a good job of stepping in and being like, ‘Hey, no bullying,’” he said. “Though, not really going so well.”
Variety reported that Casalegno has received public death threats for his role as Jeremiah, along with backlash over past social media activity. Sources told the outlet that Amazon acted after producers observed “more opportunity for toxic behaviour online,” particularly “anonymous, overly harsh criticisms.”
Author Jenny Han also weighed in this week. “I know fans of the show are passionate and no one has bad intent,” she wrote on Instagram. “But even in jest, posting images of a woman being slapped or choked is not funny.”
The third and final season of The Summer I Turned Pretty concludes on 17 September.
Source: The Guardian