Amazon has issued a rare statement reminding fans of The Summer I Turned Pretty to “keep the conversation kind” after online bullying against the actors in the hit romance series.
“The show isn’t real but the people playing the characters are,” the show’s official social media accounts on Instagram, TikTok and X said on Wednesday. The caption accompanied a video graphic that reads: “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
On X the show’s account also reshared an earlier “PSA for the Summer community” posted before the season three premiere in July, which instructed fans that there was a “zero tolerance policy for bullying and hate speech”.
Now on its eighth of 11 episodes in its third and final season, The Summer I Turned Pretty has become a runaway hit for Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service – as well as attracting a vocal fanbase.
Based on the novels of the same name by Jenny Han, the series follows Belly Conklin (Lola Tung) as she finds herself in a love triangle with two brothers competing for her attention: Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno).
Online the fanbase is split into two warring camps – team Conrad v team Jeremiah. Many posts poke fun at the actions of each love interest as well as Belly’s wavering – though, as the show has moved towards its climactic finale, its stars and creators have spoken out about the sometimes vitriolic nature of the posts.
“When people have an attachment to the characters, they want to see it come together at the end,” Tung told Teen Vogue in July. “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.”
A New York Times Q&A last week asked Casalegno about playing “one of the internet’s most hated boyfriends” – to which he responded that he no longer checked 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 had received public death threats for his role as Jeremiah as well as previous backlash over his social media activity, including for liking conservative political posts.
Sources close to the production told Variety that Amazon had issued the warning as producers have seen “more opportunity for toxic behaviour online” – namely “anonymous, overly harsh criticisms”.
Amazon’s statement comes one day after Han shared her own thoughts. “I know fans of the show are passionate and no one has bad intent,” the author wrote in an Instagram story on Tuesday. “But even in jest, posting images of a woman being slapped or choked is not funny.”
The final season of The Summer I Turned Pretty ends on 17 September.
