Hudson Williams has had enough of toxic messages from the “Heated Rivalry” fandom.
The Canadian actor shared an Instagram Story Monday denouncing “hateful” people calling themselves “Heated Rivalry” fans.
“Don’t call yourself a fan if you share racist/homophobic/biphobic/misogynistic/ageist/ableist/parasocial/bigoted comments of any kind. None of us need your hateful ‘love,’” the message read.
“We all respect and support and love each other and are on the same side if you can’t accept that gtfoh,” the message continued.
Williams’ co-star Francois Arnaud (who plays Scott Hunter in “Heated Rivalry”) shared the same message on his Instagram Story Monday, as did actress Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova (who plays Svetlana) and Sophie Nélisse (who plays Rose Landry).
Kharlamova added, “Please, don’t turn something on the internet that is about love into hate. So much love was put into this project and we all have a genuine respect for every person involved in making it.”
“We are not characters, nor are our real friends, partners, or family, and creating false narratives about us is not ‘love,’” she continued. “So many good things have come out of this series, so let’s keep it that way. Share the love, the art, the dance parties, the friends that have been made, the positivity.”
This is the first time Williams, 25, has addressed hateful social media comments, though he and his co-stars have been subjected to online harassment as the show skyrocketed in popularity after debuting on HBO Max in November.
Williams has been subjected to anti-Asian slurs, particularly on X, and people have pitted the co-stars against one another, accusing them of using one another for clout.
Arnaud, 40, in particular has dealt with disturbing messages after some speculated he was dating “Heated Rivalry” star Connor Storrie, 26, due to the two being photographed out together in public multiple times.
Arnaud told the Toronto Star in January of the harassment, which has included death threats, “I think it’s a lot of younger fans who don’t really understand the difference between reality and fiction.”
“I honestly wish they would just rewatch the show, because it doesn’t seem like they got its message,” he added. “Pay attention more closely. Did we watch the same show?”
Last month, “Heated Rivalry” director Jacob Tierney said he refuses to engage the part of the fandom that has become “toxic.”
“The segment of the fandom that have become toxic and saying horrible things about my actors and about characters and demanding I do things to either denounce or stand up for some imaginary f—king Twitter fight—that I’m not here for this,” Tierney told the “Loon Call” podcast. “I’m not participating. I’m not paying attention.”
Williams did address parasocial fan behavior back in January during his appearance on “Andy Cohen Live,” when he was asked about people prying into his personal life.
“You can look at whatever I said, I don’t care … I’m pretty chill about it,” he said. “On a scale of freaking me out it’s like a 2 out of 10.”
“There are going to be people who have crazy reactions to it, but those people can take a hike because the people who have a healthy reaction are the only people that I care about or respect for having a developed frontal cortex.”
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