Heated Rivalry stars condemn online bigotry: ‘Don’t call yourself a fan’
Hudson Williams (left) and Francois Arnaud (right). (Getty)
Heated Rivalry stars Hudson Williams and Francois Arnaud are calling out “hateful” and “bigoted” comments from the show’s fandom.
In matching posts shared on their Instagram Stories yesterday (9 March), Hudson Williams and Francois Arnaud wrote: “Don’t call yourself a fan if you share racist/homophobic/biphobic/misogynist/ageist/ableist/parasocial/bigoted comments of any kind.
“None of us need your hateful ‘love’,” the post continues. “We all respect and support and love each other and are on the same side. If you can’t accept that gtfoh [get the f*** outta here]”.
The posts were reshared by fellow Heated Rivalry star Robbie G.K. who tagged Williams and added a crown emoji.
Williams and Connor Storrie play ice hockey rivals turned lovers Shane Hollander and Ilya Rosanov in the viral show, while Arnaud and G.K. play Scott Hunter and Kip Grady, who find love off of the hockey pitch.
All four actors have been subjected to intense speculation and rumours about their personal lives and relationships since becoming overnight sensations due to the success of the series.
Actress Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova, who plays Shane’s friend Svetlana Vetrova in the queer ice hockey romance, also added her thoughts to the conversation around toxic fan culture.
“Please don’t make a show that’s about love be hateful online,” she wrote on Instagram, sharing Williams’ original post.
“So much love was poured into this project and we all genuinely have so much respect for everyone involved in making this. We’re not characters and neither are our real friends, partners, family and making up false narratives about us isn’t ‘love.’”
Kharlamova’s statement came one day after she posted on X, formerly Twitter, urging fans not to forget about the necessity of the female stars in Heated Rivalry.
“Since it’s Women’s Day I want to say the women you see at industry events are there bcuz they are just as deserving of being in those rooms!” she wrote.
“The assumption that we are there because our male costars invited us takes away the work we also put in. Celebrate women’s achievements!”
After some fans appeared not to grasp what the actress was saying, she was forced to offer a follow up statement, writing: “Also if you’re using this tweet to criticize my cast mates you missed the point! They are amazing!! I said CELEBRATE WOMEN not hate on male actors.”
Despite originally dropping on Crave in Canada in November, the hype around Heated Rivalry appears to be here to stay. Season two, which will adapt Rachel Reid’s sixth novel The Long Game in her Game Changers book series, is set to film this summer, with an April 2027 release date.
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