Hudson Williams Calls Out ‘Bigotry’ Among Heated Rivalry Fans

The stars of Heated Rivalry are calling out toxicity within the show’s fan community.

On Monday evening, leading man Hudson Williams – who portrays Shane Hollander in the Canadian sports romance – had a message for viewers who have been posting “bigoted comments of any kind” in an attempt to put cast members or characters down.

“Don’t call yourself a fan if you share racist/homophobic/biphobic/misogynistic/ageist/ableist/parasocial/bigoted comments of any kind,” he told his Instagram followers. “None of us need your hateful ‘love’.”

Hudson added: “We all respect and support and love each other and are on the same side. If you can’t accept that [get the fuck outta here].”

François Arnaud, better known to Heated Rivalry fans for his portrayal of Scott Hunter, also shared the same message at around the same time.

Based on Rachel Reid’s Game Changer romance novels, Heated Rivalry became an international sleeper hit after premiering on the Canadian broadcaster Crave towards the end of 2025.

The six-part series stars Hudson and Connor Storrie as its central couple, playing hockey stars Shane Hollander and Ilya Grigoryevich Rozanov, two rivals who are embroiled in a passionate romance away from the public eye.

Heated Rivalry has gone on to become an unexpected global phenomenon, making household names of its previously-unknown central actors ahead of its UK premiere on Sky and Now back in January.

A second season, unsurprisingly, is already in the works, though fans could be in for a bit of a wait before it arrives.

“This time last year I’d written five of these, and this time this year I’ve written zero of them,” series creator Jacob Tierney told Variety at the end of 2025. “So it’s going to be a little bit later, but it’s still going to be soon.”

Meanwhile, Connor and Hudson have teased a “hotter, wetter, longer” season two, which is expected to begin shooting in the summer before debuting in the spring of 2027.