“Heated Rivals” stars Hudson Williams and Francois Arnault posted matching statements on their Instagram Stories on Monday, condemning viewers who post hateful comments on their castmates’ social media.
“If you share racist, homophobic, biphobic, misogynistic, ageist, ableist, antisocial, bigoted comments, please don’t call yourself a fan,” the post reads. “None of us need your hateful ‘love’.”
The statement continued, “We all respect, support and love each other and are on the same side. If you can’t accept that GTFOH.”
In “Rivalry,” Williams plays up-and-coming hockey star Shane Hollander, while Arnaud plays veteran pro Scott Hunter. The HBO drama depicts a secret romance between Williams’ character and Ilya Rozanov, played by Connor Story. All three leads have been the subject of online hate recently, with some viewers sharing their comments to stir up drama.
Williams and Arnault aren’t the only “Heated Rivalry” stars to speak out against hate. Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova, who plays Ilya’s best friend Svetlana, posted a statement on X to cancel out the online noise about her importance to the show.
“Today is Women’s Day, so I want to say to the women you see at industry events that they deserve to be in the room just as much as they are there. The assumption that we’re there because our male co-stars invited us is a waste of all the hard work we’ve put in. Let’s celebrate women’s accomplishments!” In a follow-up post, she wrote, “If you’re using this tweet to criticize my castmates, you’re missing the point! They’re amazing!! I told them to celebrate women instead of hating male actors.”
