Actor Gavin Casalegno, who features as Jeremiah Fisher in “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” has finally opened up about getting immense hate for his portrayal of the character.
Adapted from Jenny Han’s best-selling book trilogy of the same name, the series 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 town of Cousins Beach.
Social media turned on Casalegno when Season 3 kicked off last month – and the online hate became so heated that Amazon had to issue a statement on July 14 asking viewers to stop bullying the actor.
In a recent interview, Casalegno reflected on the ire his Jeremiah draws from both viewers and even social media accounts. Jeremiah became “one of the internet’s most hated boyfriends,” he admitted.
“I don’t check Instagram anymore, so I really haven’t seen that much hate. I think it’s important to understand and realise that this is a fictional story, and it’s also not me.”
The actor even admitted that some fans approach him in real life just to tell him how much they “hate” Jeremiah.
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Casalegno, who has portrayed Jeremiah ever since the first season of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” premiered in June 2022, also shared how overwhelming this negativity and hatred from fans can get.
“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 admitted.
Meanwhile, Casalegno’s his co-star Tung came out in his defence amid the fervent fan fallout.
“I’m so grateful that they care so much, but people get a little scary about it,” Tung said in an interview. “Please don’t threaten to kill someone if something doesn’t go your way – I promise you, it’s not that serious,” the actress said.