Before you try throwing a two-tier mirror glaze cake at my face, hear me out. The show, The Summer I turned Pretty, has got people engrossed globally. From making Bonrad edits to hating on Lacy Barone (WHO THE HELL IS LACY BARONE), there is an unexplainable passion keeping viewers hooked.
Jeremiah Fisher’s Downfall
With the advent of season 3, we saw the worst of Jeremiah, causing a lot of people to switch to team Conrad. Between the Lacy Barone slip-up, throwing a cake tantrum, and yes, the whole credit score thing, things have not been looking good for him. Things have not been looking good for him this season. Furthermore, the amalgamation of him messing up so much has got viewers enraged. Previously, we saw Jeremiah as someone with a fun-loving golden retriever personality. While he has always been a friendly guy, we did see glimpses of his hot headed attitude and jealousy in the previous seasons. Such as when Jeremiah kisses Belly in the pool but then later starts questioning her intentions. He also constantly compared himself to Conrad, deeming himself to be the “safer choice”. This sheds light on his hot headed and insecure behaviour.
While we can all agree that Jeremiah has made some questionable choices, you know who hasn’t? Gavin Casalegno. Yes, the actor who plays Jeremiah Fisher. When watching shows, many times, fans seem unable to separate the actor from the character. This is exactly what’s happening with Gavin. Fans are constantly hating on the actor, leaving hurtful instagram comments on his posts, etc. What should be directed and viewed as a testament for his great and convincing acting, is being turned into hatred towards him as a person. The fandom started getting so toxic that Prime Video had to remind fans about its zero tolerance policy for bullying and hate speech. The show’s official accounts have posted warnings about the harassment of the cast and crew.
When Fandoms Turn Toxic: Death Threats & Harassment
While some people might laugh it off, it is important to know that Gavin Casalegno has literally been receiving death threats. This raises light on the issue of fans taking things too far and not being able to see fiction for what it is. While Gavin is aware of the hate he has been receiving, he seems to be a good sport about it. In a recent interview with The New York Times he says, “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 realise that this is a fictional story — and it’s also not me.” Gavin also mentions that he is aware of the hatred towards his character and brands jumping on the anti Jeremiah and team Conrad bandwagon. He says that he hasn’t been checking instagram that often so that helps him avoid and miss out on much of the hate. The actor also goes on to praise Prime Video for intervening to reduce the hate, but that doesn’t seem to have helped much as fans are still hell bent on hating him. If anything, I see this as a testament to his great and convincing actor. However, this does shed light on a larger issue of toxic fandoms being unable to separate reality from fiction. These fans are so engrossed that they have even resorted to sending Gavin death threats over a fictional love triangle. So before you feel like throwing another cake at Jeremiah Fisher, maybe remember Gavin Casalegno is just doing his job, and doing it well.
