Gavin Casalegno Calls Out “Bullying” From The Summer I Turned Pretty Fandom

The Summer I Turned Pretty fans have always been split between Team Conrad and Team Jeremiah, but the division has become more heated than ever in the show’s final season. And the fervor feels pretty unbalanced to Gavin Casalegno. As frustration with his character, Jeremiah Fisher, has become a viral obsession, the actor revealed how hard it’s been to “carry the emotional negativity” from such a passionate fandom.

In the teen drama’s final installment, Jeremiah is preparing to marry his longtime crush Belly Conklin, although many viewers are hoping the relationship will fall apart so Belly can instead be with Jeremiah’s brother, Conrad. The vocal shipping wars have led to a lot of hate directed at Jeremiah, and by extension, Casalegno himself. Although the actor says he stays away from social media now, he’s aware of the intense negativity.

“They tend to dislike him, yes,” Casalegno told The New York Times when asked about the fan reaction to Jeremiah. “I don’t check Instagram anymore, so I really haven’t seen that much hate. The only thing that I see is my sister sending me the memes that are really funny. I think it’s important to also understand and realize that this is a fictional story — and it’s also not me.”

Along with switching off social media, Casalegno admitted he doesn’t watch the series. “I honestly haven’t even really watched any of the show,” he said. “Because, you know, when you’re in it, you know what’s happening. And so it’s like: why? At the end of the day, it’s work — it’s an amazing job, a dream job — but it is still work.”

Before the final season began airing, the official Summer I Turned Pretty social channels posted a message warning fans against hate speech directed at cast members. Casalegno doesn’t believe the note worked.

“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,” Casalegno said. “Amazon did a good job of stepping in and being like, ‘Hey, no bullying.’ Though, not really going so well.”