Lola Tung poses at Machine Hall in Sydney, Australia on July 30, 2025. (Don Arnold/WireImage)Ahead of Wednesday's episode of The Summer I Turned Pretty, creator Jenny Han cautioned fans against posting images of a woman being "slapped or choked."In the since-deleted Instagram Story from Tuesday, Han shared an image of the show's community guidelines, along with an added note."I know fans of the show are passionate and no one has bad intent, but even in jest, posting images of a woman being slapped or choked is not funny," Han wrote.
The Summer I Turned Pretty creator Jenny Han's since-deleted Instagram Story from Tuesday. (Jenny Han via Instagram)Han did not identify any of the show's female stars, though it's likely that she's referring to Lola Tung, who portrays protagonist Belly "Isabel" Conklin. As with many teen dramas that revolve around a messy love triangle, The Summer I Turned Pretty fandom is staunchly divided into two camps: Team Jeremiah and Team Conrad. The show follows Belly, who finds herself romantically torn between two brothers, Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) and Conrad Fisher (Chris Briney).
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOnline, several members of The Summer I Turned Pretty fandom have voiced their criticism of Tung's character. Among fans' main grievances with Belly is that it seems as though she's continuing to make ill-advised decisions when it comes to matters of the heart. Certain monologues delivered by Tung's character in recent episodes have merely bolstered fan disdain toward the fictional teenage girl."When people have an attachment to the characters, they want to see it come together at the end," Tung told Teen Vogue in July. "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."The Prime Video show's official social media accounts also reminded fans of its anti-bullying policy. The reminder was shared as another one of the show's stars, Casalegno, faced increased criticism and online harassment from fans as well.
An Instagram Story posted by the account on Tuesday reminded followers of the "community guidelines" for engaging with its content.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"We have a ZERO tolerance policy for bullying and hate speech," the account wrote, noting that anyone who engages in behaviors like "hate speech or bullying," "targeting our cast or crew" or "harassing or doxxing members of the community" would be "banned.""The show isn't real but the people playing the characters are," the official Instagram and X accounts for The Summer I Turned Pretty wrote in the caption of a post that featured the words "The Summer We Started Acting Normal Online."While no explicit reason was provided for why the show's social media accounts posted the zero-tolerance message, some viewers believe it was prompted by Casalegno's recent remarks about being attacked online. With only three more episodes left in the season, fans have made their growing hatred for Casalegno's character common knowledge. The 25-year-old actor also hinted that he received vitriolic messages from fans."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 New York Times in August. "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."AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFans were previously reminded of the community guidelines ahead of the show's Season 3 premiere in mid-July."Cousins is our safe place," read the first of two images initially shared on July 14. "Everything good, everything magical. Let's keep the conversation kind this summer."The second image was the same outline of the show's community guidelines that was shared again on Tuesday.
Aware of the backlash his character garners, Casalegno also told the New York Times that he chooses to distance himself from social media."They tend to dislike him, yes. I don't check Instagram anymore, so I really haven't seen that much hate," he told the outlet about Jeremiah. "The only thing that I see is my sister sending me the memes that are really funny. I think it's important to also understand and realize that this is a fictional story - and it's also not me."About Our Ads