"Is not funny": The Summer I Turned Pretty's OG author addresses the recent fan bullying hurled upon the cast

The Summer I Turned Pretty author, Jenny Han, has finally broken her silence and addressed the fan bullying directed at her show's cast recently. The loyal fanbase of Amazon Prime Video's teen show has been divided into Team Conrad and Team Jeremiah since Season 1. However, this playful banter has only evolved for the worse, transforming into online fan bullying of the show's cast.

While actress Lola Tung has been targeted for Belly's questionable choices in the show, respective fanbases have directed their hate at actors Gavin Casalegno (Jeremiah) and Christopher Briney (Conrad).

After recent death threats to the lead cast, Jenny Han took to her social media and issued a final warning for The Summer I Turned Pretty fans:

"I know fans of the show are passionate and no one has bad intent. But even in jest, posting images of a woman being slapped or choked is not funny."

Earlier, the show's social media account also warned the fans to stay respectful towards the actors, ahead of the Season 3 premiere:

"The Summer We Started Acting Normal Online...The show isn’t real but the people playing the characters are."

More on The Summer I Turned Pretty fan bullying in our story.

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The Summer I Turned Pretty fan bullying: Team Conrad vs. Team Jeremiah takes over the internet

While it was initially wholesome to witness The Summer I Turned Pretty fans vouch for their respective choices in Jeremiah and Conrad for Belly on the Internet, this debate soon took an ugly form, spiraling out of control with the recent season's release. The cast bullying certainly came to a head, and Han & Amazon Prime Video had to intervene to remind fans that the story and characters are fictional, but there seems to be no stopping them.

The Summer I Turned Pretty cast has faced their fair share of online bullying, especially after Season 3, but actor Gavin Casalegno has had the worst experience on the Internet recently. The Vampire Diaries star certainly became a household name with his debut in the teen romantic series, where he plays the role of Jeremiah Fisher, who officially became Belly's fiancé in Season 3. But this stardom came at a cost, as Casalegno has been the target of the most bullying among the TSITP cast.

In a recent interview with The New York Times, the actor revealed how he has stopped checking his Instagram and other social media apps and only explores the Internet for memes. The actor also revealed that some loyal Team Conrad fans from The Summer I Turned Pretty also made him into

"One of the internet's most hated boyfriends...''

He also added:

"I think it's important to also understand and realise that this is a fictional story - and it's also not me. I don't think there's a single human being in the world who can carry the emotional negativity to the degree that stuff like this happens.''

The actor also appreciated Amazon Prime Video for taking a step against The Summer I Turned Pretty fan bullying and for calling out fans for their toxic behavior. However, nothing seems to be affecting them much.

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The Summer I Turned Pretty is heading to its series finale

While Team Conrad leaves no chances of calling out Gavin Casalegno, especially after Jeremiah's marriage proposal to Belly, The Summer I Turned Pretty fan bullying will likely get more ugly and brutal as the show heads to its series finale. Book readers already know Belly's ending and which Fisher brother she will choose, but Jenny Han has teased that the show can feature an alternative ending.

The author has teased a different ending for Belly in an interview with Entertainment Weekly:

"There are going to be surprises. There are the things that they know and then there are things they think they know, and then there's going to be, hopefully, things that surprise them."

While the creative changes in the show depend on multiple factors, book lovers will likely not be happy with any major changes to Belly's story, as they have been anticipating her with their favorite Fisher brother.

While it is certainly normal to vouch for your favorite characters and root for them in a show, The Summer I Turned Pretty fans have taken this to an extent where the lines between actors and characters have been blurred. Dumping online hatred on actors purely for their fictional characters on-screen is certainly brutal, and Jenny Han's recent comments seemed like the final warning for all fans bullying the show's cast.

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