Heated Rivalry’s Hudson Williams says closeted pros have DMed him after gay hockey drama
Hudson Williams sat down with Andy Cohen on his Sirius XM program ‘Andy Cohen Live’. (Jason Mendez/Getty Images)
Heated Rivalry’s Hudson Williams has claimed closeted professional athletes have messaged him after watching the gay hockey drama.
Heated Rivalry follows two rising stars in the ice hockey world – Shane (Williams) and bisexual Russian Ilya (Connor Storrie) – who begin an illicit romance.
In a clip posted on Wednesday (7 January) of his appearance on Radio Andy, Williams, who plays closeted Canadian prodigy Shane Hollander in the drama, shared that he, and author Rachel Reid, have received messages from several professional athletes who have revealed they are closeted in their chosen sport.
The 24-year-old responded to Andy Cohen’s question of what messages he’s received from closeted viewers, and said: “It’s definitely the people who reach out somewhat anonymously who are like, ‘I’m a professional player and I’m still in the closet’.”
A shocked Cohen questioned: “You’ve heard from closeted players? Really? Closeted hockey players?”
Williams responded: “Yeah. Hockey players, football players, basketball players, yeah.
“So, then they’re reaching out to Rachel, our author, who will then kind of relay these lovely anonymous emails. And sometimes they’re just reaching out privately through, like, Instagram. And those ones are the ones that really just kind of hit you and go, ‘Oh, so this is a fun show, and it’s celebratory, but also sometimes it’s just hitting people right in the nerve’.”
Speaking exclusively to PinkNews in December, Brock McGillis, the first out gay professional hockey player, poured cold water on the idea that Heated Rivalry would help players come out.
The retired hockey player said the series could show more of the normalised homophobia he says exists in the sport, adding that he hopes “it might help the people around [players] understand a little more if they’re dating somebody”.
Following its release, Heated Rivalry blew up, with its passionate scenes becoming a recurring talking point.
The series’ author, Reid, has shared that the hockey romance’s popularity is helping her to access better care for Parkinson’s, more than two years on from her diagnosis.
Parkinson’s disease, which can be inherited, is a neurological condition caused by a reduction of dopamine in the brain, leading to a plethora of physical and psychological problems such as memory loss, violent tremors, and motor-function issues.
Heated Rivalry is streaming now on Crave in Canada and HBO in the US. The show has a UK release on Sky and streaming service NOW from 10 January.
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