‘Don’t call yourself a fan’

Hudson Williams, François Arnaud, and more stars of Heated Rivalry are wading into the most toxic corners of the series’ ever-widening fandom to plea for peace.

Williams and Arnaud shared an identical graphic to their respective Instagram Stories on Monday that suggested their encounters with the negative side of fan posting have become unbearable.

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

Robbie Graham-Kuntz, who goes by Robbie G.K. and plays the kindly Kip Grady on the splashy romantic drama, shared the same graphic shortly after his costars, which ended by noting, “We all respect and support and love each other and are on the same side if you can’t accept that gtfoh.”

Williams, Arnaud, and G.K. did not immediately specify whether a particular comment, fan interaction, or other incident spurred their sharing the same post. But shortly after posting his, Williams responded to a fan on Threads questioning his motives by explaining, “It was Francois’ idea and I helped write it! I don’t scroll comments so I did not see the hate. I was vibing watching figure skating highlights.”

Entertainment Weekly has reached out to representatives for Arnaud, Williams, and G.K. for comment.

The series took culture by storm soon after its premiere in November, and viewers who have spent any time in its online fan spaces likely won’t be surprised to see Williams and Arnaud wading into the discourse around Heated Rivalry.

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Williams and his co-lead Connor Storrie previously likened the way fans have begun to mob them in public to “when you see the Beatles, when you see BTS.” Even the moderators of fan accounts have had to contend with cascade of attention constantly pummeling the show and its stars — and not all of it has been positive.

Arnaud, who plays the American hockey star Scott Hunter, unfollowed his castmates and series creator Jacob Tierney in January amid reports of an escalating amount of hate directed against him from within the Heated Rivalry fandom.

He quickly followed them again after posting a cheeky edited photo of himself and Williams flipping the bird. But he was still able to express sympathy for the fans who choose to express their love of the show in less than savory ways.

“In general, fans have been incredibly positive and respectful. For the ones that aren’t, I think it’s a lot of younger fans who don’t really understand the difference between reality and fiction,” he told the Toronto Star the same month. “I honestly wish they would just rewatch the show, because it doesn’t seem like they got its message. Pay attention more closely. Did we watch the same show?”

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