The Summer I Turned Pretty's Lola Tung calls out fans over intense Belly hate

Lola Tung avoids using Instagram because of the incessant hate comments during The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3.

16 September 2025, 12:03 | Updated: 16 September 2025, 14:08

The Summer I Turned Pretty's Lola Tung calls out fans over intense Belly hate. Picture: John Nacion/Getty Images, Prime

By Sam Prance

Lola Tung avoids using Instagram because of the incessant hate comments during The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3.

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The Summer I Turned Pretty's Lola Tung has opened up about the hate Belly gets and being trolled over playing her.

It's no secret that The Summer I Turned Pretty fans feel passionately about the show. However, the response has led some fans to bully the cast online. In season 2, Skye actor Elsie Fisher received a torrent of online abuse and, more recently both Gavin Casalegno, who plays Jeremiah, and Lola Tung, who plays Belly, have been trolled by fans.

The response has been so intense that the official The Summer I Turned Pretty social accounts have shared several PSAs discouraging any bullying in the fandom. Gavin also revealed that he's quit Instagram and told The New York Times: "I think it’s important to also understand and realise that this is a fictional story, and it’s also not me."

Now, Lola Tung has spoken out and told people who hate the characters and actors to the stop watching the show.

Watch Belly in Paris in the final The Summer I Turned Pretty trailer

Discussing the bullying from fans with Harper's Bazaar, Lola said: “The internet is really difficult to deal with. It can be hard. We’re so protective of the work and of each other. I appreciate that the show puts out those statements." She then admitted that she expects it to a certain extent: "It’s inevitable, I think, to get at least some level of hate."

However, Lola revealed that she finds it hard to be on social media when people are constantly criticising Belly for her decisions in the show: "When you work hard on something and love your character so much, I’m like, No, no. Let me just defend her."

Ultimately, Lola tries to disengage from the hate and stay away from social media so that she's not affected by their remarks: "People have their opinions and are going to say stuff, and I don’t have to listen to all of it or read all of it."

Lola added that she thinks some people should just not watch the show: "I think to really truly say that you hate [a character] or don’t want to watch if one of them is on your screen—I’m like, Then don’t watch.”

In The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3, Belly has faced intense viewer scrutiny over how she navigates her love triangle with Jeremiah and Conrad.

Lola Tung as Belly in The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3. Picture: Prime

Talking to Teen Vogue about trolling ahead of season 3, Lola also said: "I think we see with a lot of these love-triangle stories, people want the leading girl to end up with someone. When people have an attachment to the characters, they want to see it come together at the end."

Lola ended by saying: "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."