Gavin Casalegno reacts to Jeremiah being…
The summer time he turned hated.
Gavin Casalegno, who stars as Jeremiah Fisher in the hit Amazon Prime collection “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” has opened up about his character turning into “one of the internet’s most hated boyfriends” during an interview with the New York Times revealed Thursday, Aug. 21.
Gavin Casalegno before an look on “CBS Mornings” in New York City on July 17, 2025. GC Images
Belly (Lola Tung) and Jeremiah (Casalegno) in “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” Erika Doss/Prime
“They tend to dislike him, yes,” Casalegno, 25, said concerning the intense online backlash against 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,” he continued. “I think it’s important to also understand and realize that this is a fictional story – and it’s also not me.”
Casalegno has portrayed Jeremiah ever since the first season of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” premiered in June 2022.
Casalegno, Lola Tung and Christopher Briney attend “The Summer I Turned Pretty” Season 3 New York Launch Event at the Refinery Rooftop in New York City on July 16, 2025. WireImage
Warning: spoilers below!
The collection, which is an adaptation of writer Jenny Han’s best-selling e-book trilogy of the same title, revolves around the love triangle between Isabel “Belly” Conklin (Lola Tung) and brothers Jeremiah (Casalegno) and Conrad Fisher (Christopher Briney) during their summers in the fictional seaside city of Cousins Beach.
Although Conrad was Belly’s first love, she and Jeremiah started relationship at the end of Season 2. The show’s current third and closing season, which can conclude with the collection finale on Sept. 17, has so far adopted Belly and Jeremiah’s relationship.
But social media turned on Casalegno when Season 3 kicked off last month – and the online hate grew to become so heated that Amazon issued a assertion on July 14 asking viewers to stop bullying the actor.
Sean Kaufman, Casalegno, Lola Tung, Christopher Briney and Rain Spencer attend “The Summer I Turned Pretty” Season 3 New York Launch Event at the Refinery Rooftop in New York City on July 16, 2025. WireImage
“Cousins is our safe place. Everything good, everything magical,” the PSA read. “Let’s keep the conversation kind this summer.”
The bullying didn’t stop, however, and followers of the show still took to social media to slam Casalegno for the issues his character did onscreen.
“The second-hand embarrassment I felt watching Belly announce her engagement and show off the aluminum foil ring,” one fan tweeted after Jeremiah proposed to Belly at the end of the new season’s second episode.
“Little bitch Jeremiah threw a tantrum about not getting his perfect chocolate cake,” another wrote on X after Jeremiah needed an elaborate, $750 marriage ceremony cake.
Jeremiah (Casalegno) and Belly (Lola Tung) in “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” Erika Doss/Prime
“Hey, remember when Jeremiah LITERALLY cheated on Belly in Cabo?” a third fan commented after Belly learns Jeremiah slept with another woman, Lacie Barone, during a spring break journey to Cabo.
Other followers have been even more ruthless.
“I hate Jeremiah for real,” one wrote on TikTok.
“Sorry, but Jeremiah is NOT a victim here,” commented another. “He’s enjoying the toxic environment he created and was only ever in it to win the prize!”
Casalegno noticed skateboarding around Manhattan on July 15, 2025. WireImage
“What episode does he die?” added yet another unforgiving fan.
Despite the extreme backlash, Casalegno has insisted that he doesn’t let the online hate against Jeremiah get to him.
“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 told the outlet. “And I think that’s why Amazon did a good job of stepping in and being like, ‘Hey, no bullying.’ Though not really going so well.”
Casalegno attends “The Summer I Turned Pretty” Season 3 New York Launch Event at the Refinery Rooftop in New York City on July 16, 2025. Getty Images
“I honestly haven’t even really watched any of the show,” he added. “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.”
Casalegno’s “The Summer I Turned Pretty” co-star, meanwhile, has spoken out to defend him and Jeremiah amid the fervent fan fallout.
“I’m so grateful that they care so much, but people get a little scary about it,” Tung, 22, told Teen Vogue in an interview revealed July 10. “Please don’t threaten to kill someone if something doesn’t go your way – I promise you, it’s not that serious.”
Casalegno attends the Lacoste SS25 Runway Show during Paris Fashion Week on October 1, 2024. Dave Benett/Getty Images for Lacoste
Han, who not only created “The Summer I Turned Pretty” e-book trilogy but also serves as co-showrunner of the collection, defended Casalegno, too, during a chat with Elle revealed July 30.
“I’m protective over the cast, and I just like to remind people that everyone sees what you’re saying online, and there are real people who are playing these characters,” she started. “I don’t think it’s easy to be in the public eye and have people dissecting everything about you.”
“I don’t think that’s healthy for anybody,” the writer continued. “I think the ‘Summer I Turned Pretty’ cast aren’t super online. I want to do what I can to protect them, but also I really love the audience as well.”
Christopher Briney (Conrad), Lola Tung (Belly) and Casalegno (Jeremiah) during Season 2 of “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” John Merrick/Prime Video
As for the show’s closing episode next month, many followers are hoping that Belly ends up with Conrad amid the Team Jeremiah vs. Team Conrad debate.
The latest episode, which aired Wednesday, Aug. 20, noticed Conrad confess his love to Belly after studying Jeremiah had cheated on her in Cabo.
Belly, however, turns into overwhelmed by the marriage and her emotions for Jeremiah and in the end rejects Conrad in the episode’s heartbreaking closing scene – leaving him distraught and her and Jeremiah’s marriage ceremony plans in chaos.
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