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Jenny Han<\/strong> is speaking out, urging fans to keep things in perspective as the final season of The Summer I Turned Pretty<\/em><\/a> unfolds.<\/p>\n The Prime Video series, starring Lola Tung<\/strong>, Christopher Briney<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and Gavin Casalegno<\/strong><\/a>, reaches its climactic moments in Season 3, and Han\u2014the showrunner, executive producer, and author of the original books\u2014is addressing the backlash and negativity that has popped up online toward both the characters and the actors.<\/p>\n \u201cI know fans of the show are passionate and no one has bad intent,\u201d Han wrote in an Instagram Story<\/a> on August 26. \u201cBut even in jest, posting images of a woman being slapped or choked is not funny.\u201d<\/p>\n The series\u2019 official social media accounts have also weighed in, reinforcing the show\u2019s \u201czero tolerance policy\u201d for bullying and hate speech that was first shared at the beginning of the series. Reposting initial photos from July, the show reminded fans on X in an August 26 post: \u201cIn case you forgot.\u201d<\/p>\n The warning was further amplified through a playful social media trend inspired by the show. The account posted a photo<\/a> captioned, \u201cThe Summer We Started Acting Normal Online,\u201d adding, \u201cThe show isn\u2019t real but the people playing the characters are.\u201d<\/p>\n Fan reactions reached a fever pitch following episode seven, which dropped on August 20. In the episode, Briney\u2019s Conrad confessed his lingering feelings for Tung\u2019s Belly, one of the series\u2019 most beloved ships\u2014rivaling the romantic tension between Belly and Conrad\u2019s younger brother Jeremiah, played by Casalegno. The episode\u2019s events sparked online attacks aimed at Belly for turning Conrad down.<\/p>\n Tung has not publicly shared how the backlash personally affects her, though she has addressed the intense reactions to her character with humor. \u201cWhen people have an attachment to the characters, they want to see it come together at the end,\u201d she told Teen Vogue<\/em><\/a> in a July 10 feature. \u201cI\u2019m so grateful that they care so much, but people get a little scary about it. Please don\u2019t threaten to kill someone if something doesn\u2019t go your way\u2014I promise you, it\u2019s not that serious.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Casalegno has taken steps to protect himself from online negativity, limiting his social media time to avoid harassment aimed at his character, Jeremiah. He echoed Tung\u2019s advice in an August 22 interview with The New York Times<\/em><\/a>: \u201cI think it\u2019s important to also understand and realize that this is a fictional story\u2014and it\u2019s also not me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n