Russian website fined $6.6k over Heated Rivalry review under strict anti-gay laws
Heated Rivalry. (Image: Sabrina Lantos/HBO)
A Russian court has fined a local news outlet 500,000 rubles (about $6,600) after it published a review of the gay-themed hockey drama series Heated Rivalry, treating the cultural write-up as illegal ‘LGBT propaganda’, according to a Mediazona report.
The Oktyabrsky District Court in Saratov, which is around 480 miles southeast of Moscow, issued the penalty against Saratov Business Consulting (SarBC) under a ruling regarding ‘LGBT propaganda’ on the internet.
The fine was linked to a review headlined: “Why Did ‘Heated Rivalry’ Become Popular?”
A CBC report confirmed the fine, adding that the link to SarBC’s article is no longer available.
A SarBC employee told Mediazona the review appeared briefly online through a link exchange before being removed.
“The article just came from a link exchange. It was published for a short time, but we quickly took it down. It’s a harmless review, the kind of which is all over the internet,” the employee said.
The same employee also appeared wary of naming the series while discussing the case, saying: “There’s a certain TV series that’s being actively discussed right now.”
Heated Rivalry and Russia
Heated Rivalry centres on closeted gay Russian hockey player Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie), who is in a secret affair with Canadian player Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams). Some scenes are set in Russia, and Rozanov’s tense relationship with his family is a big plot point and something he struggles with throughout season one.
Despite legal risks around LGBTQ+ content, the series has found a big Russian fanbase via pirate sites or VPNs. Review site Kinopoisk has votes from over 60,000 viewers, who have given the series a rating of 8.3 out of 10. Earlier this year, a Moscow court charged some streaming sites with ‘LGBTQ+ propaganda’ linked to the show.
“People are watching it in part because it is forbidden, a guilty pleasure that the government would likely view as dangerous propaganda,” one Russian fan told the CBC.
Russia’s ‘propaganda’ law
Regional Russian media outlets operate under increasing legal and political constraints, including laws regulating ‘extremism’ and content deemed harmful to ‘traditional values’.
Since 2022, Russia has expanded its ‘LGBT propaganda’ framework to cover adults, intensifying censorship of LGBTQ+ themes across media and online platforms. Local outlets can face significant financial penalties that encourage self-censorship, including on cultural coverage.
Season 2 of Heated Rivalry is set to debut in April 2027.
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