00:00Turning now to a dark side of fame for the cast of the hit show The Summer I Turned Pretty.
00:05There is a big debate on the show about who the main characters should end up with and it has
00:11become so intense. Some so-called fans have taken it to the extreme, even harassing the actors
00:16online. Jolene Kent has more. Jolene, good morning. Kelly, good morning. This series has
00:22captivated audiences as it follows a young woman who finds herself in a love triangle between two
00:28brothers competing for her attention. But this fan enthusiasm is starting to spill into hostility.
00:36When I'm with Jer, everything is easier. But everywhere I go, there's a memory of Conrad.
00:43Online, fans are split into dueling camps. Team Conrad versus Team Jeremiah. Social media platforms
00:51have become battlegrounds from heated debates about which love interests should win to personal
00:57attacks on the actors themselves. The cast joined CBS Mornings in July.
01:02But do you ever have to say to people, guys, this is, we're acting.
01:05Of course.
01:06This is acting. Yes.
01:08Yeah, I mean, it means a lot to have people so passionate.
01:12But since their visit, aggression online has only grown. In a Q&A with the New York Times last week,
01:18Gavin Casalino, who portrays Jeremiah, admitted he doesn't check social media anymore to avoid
01:25negativity. Lola Tung, who plays the love interest Belly, told Teen Vogue that people get a little
01:31scary about it and warned not to threaten to kill someone over an undesired ending.
01:38Last week, Prime Video stepped in with a plea, saying the show isn't real, but the people playing
01:44the characters are. Their campaign, titled The Summer We Started Acting Normal Online, urges fans to keep
01:51the conversation kind and highlights a zero-tolerance policy on bullying and hate speech.
01:59I'm really blown away. I've never seen a network have to step in and tell fans, like, simmer down.
02:04This is not real.
02:06Author and psychiatrist Sue Varma says fans' emotional attachment may point to a larger societal problem.
02:13There is a line between fiction and reality, and I feel as if these lines are becoming really blurred
02:19when people are projecting their anger, their hatred, their harassment and resentment onto
02:25fictional characters. And to me, that says that maybe there's a deep void in our society right now
02:31where we're longing so deeply for human connection that it doesn't matter what kind of connection it is.
02:36Varma also believes this kind of fan behavior is a sign of a psychological phenomenon known as Paris
02:44social relationships, one-sided bonds with media figures like celebrities or even those fictional
02:50characters. And she says the anonymity of social media often emboldens fans to exhibit bad behavior.
02:56But, you know, guys, this series is so popular, set in Paris. I will be watching that series finale.
03:02Anything from Jenny Han is amazing.
03:05Yeah, it's just so amazing that young people feel so emboldened, as you said, Joling,
03:09to kind of take out their opinions on performers.
03:12It's not real. Let the kids enjoy doing their thing.
03:15Joling, thank you so much.
03:16Joling, thank you so much.
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