Gavin Casalegno reacts to Jeremiah being ‘internet’s most hated boyfriend’
The summer he turned hated.
Gavin Casalegno, who stars as Jeremiah Fisher in the hit Amazon Prime series “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” has opened up about his character becoming “one of the internet’s most hated boyfriends” during an interview with the New York Times published Thursday, Aug. 21.
“They tend to dislike him, yes,” Casalegno, 25, said regarding the serious 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.
Warning: spoilers below!
The series, which is an adaptation of author Jenny Han’s best-selling book trilogy of the same name, 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.
Although Conrad was Belly’s first love, she and Jeremiah began dating at the end of Season 2. The show’s current third and final season, which will conclude with the series finale on Sept. 17, has so far followed Belly and Jeremiah’s relationship.
But social media turned on Casalegno when Season 3 kicked off last month – and the online hate became so heated that Amazon issued a statement on July 14 asking viewers to stop bullying the actor.
“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 fans of the show still took to social media to slam Casalegno for the things 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 wanted an elaborate, $750 wedding cake.
“Hey, remember when Jeremiah LITERALLY cheated on Belly in Cabo?” a third fan commented after Belly learns Jeremiah slept with another girl, Lacie Barone, during a spring break trip to Cabo.
Other fans were 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!”
“What episode does he die?” added yet another unforgiving fan.
Despite the intense 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.”
“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 published July 10. “Please don’t threaten to kill someone if something doesn’t go your way – I promise you, it’s not that serious.”
Han, who not only created “The Summer I Turned Pretty” book trilogy but also serves as co-showrunner of the series, defended Casalegno, too, during a chat with Elle published 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 began. “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 author 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.”
As for the show’s final episode next month, many fans are hoping that Belly ends up with Conrad amid the Team Jeremiah vs. Team Conrad debate.
The latest episode, which aired Wednesday, Aug. 20, saw Conrad confess his love to Belly after learning Jeremiah had cheated on her in Cabo.
Belly, however, becomes overwhelmed by the wedding and her feelings for Jeremiah and ultimately rejects Conrad in the episode’s heartbreaking final scene – leaving him distraught and her and Jeremiah’s wedding plans in chaos.
Credit to Nypost AND Peoples
