The stars of Heated Rivalry have shut down fans who have been trolling them with months of online abuse.
Hudson Williams and François Arnaud pushed back against haters with a pointed joint statement on social media.
“Don’t call yourself a fan if you share racist/homophobic/biphobic/misogynist/ageist/ableist/parasocial/bigoted comments of any kind,” Williams and Arnaud both posted on Instagram. “None of us need your hateful ‘love.’”
“We all respect and support and love each other and are on the same side,” the statement added. “If you can’t accept that gtfoh.”
Williams and Arnaud didn’t point to a specific incident, but they did call out toxicity in the fandom for the wildly popular series, which released last November.
Their statement was reposted by co-star Robbie Graham-Kuntz, show creator Jacob Tierney, and author Rachel Reid, who wrote the book series that inspired the television show.
Their co-star Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova also reposted the message, adding, “Please don’t make a show that’s about love be hateful online. 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.’”
The show’s other main lead, Connor Storrie, has remained silent. The Daily Beast has reached out to Storrie’s representatives for comment.
Williams, who plays Shane Hollander, and Arnaud, who plays Scott Hunter, also replied to various comments on social media, defending themselves and the cast. Williams wrote in a post that the statement was “Francois’ idea.”
“I helped write it!” he continued. “I don’t scroll comments so I did not see the hate.”
According to Deadline, online conversations were bigoted and attacked several cast members, with many pitting them against one another.
Heated Rivalry soared to popularity after airing on HBO Max, reaching the pinnacle of cultural obsession. In an essay for the Daily Beast, Pat Brothell wrote, “Between fan edits, social media fawning (and backlash to the fawning), think pieces and headlines, the very gay show is approaching the point where it almost feels monocultural.”
