Jenny Han is speaking out, urging fans to keep things in perspective as the final season of The Summer I Turned Pretty unfolds.
The Prime Video series, starring Lola Tung, Christopher Briney and Gavin Casalegno, reaches its climactic moments in Season 3, and Han—the showrunner, executive producer, and author of the original books—is addressing the backlash and negativity that has popped up online toward both the characters and the actors.
“I know fans of the show are passionate and no one has bad intent,” Han wrote in an Instagram Story on August 26. “But even in jest, posting images of a woman being slapped or choked is not funny.”
The series’ official social media accounts have also weighed in, reinforcing the show’s “zero tolerance policy” for bullying and hate speech that was first shared at the beginning of the series. Reposting initial photos from July, the show reminded fans on X in an August 26 post: “In case you forgot.”
The warning was further amplified through a playful social media trend inspired by the show. The account posted a photo captioned, “The Summer We Started Acting Normal Online,” adding, “The show isn’t real but the people playing the characters are.”
Fan reactions reached a fever pitch following episode seven, which dropped on August 20. In the episode, Briney’s Conrad confessed his lingering feelings for Tung’s Belly, one of the series’ most beloved ships—rivaling the romantic tension between Belly and Conrad’s younger brother Jeremiah, played by Casalegno. The episode’s events sparked online attacks aimed at Belly for turning Conrad down.
Tung has not publicly shared how the backlash personally affects her, though she has addressed the intense reactions to her character with humor. “When people have an attachment to the characters, they want to see it come together at the end,” she told Teen Vogue in a July 10 feature. “I’m so grateful that they care so much, 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.”
Meanwhile, Casalegno has taken steps to protect himself from online negativity, limiting his social media time to avoid harassment aimed at his character, Jeremiah. He echoed Tung’s advice in an August 22 interview with The New York Times: “I think it’s important to also understand and realize that this is a fictional story—and it’s also not me.”
