Heated Rivalry's Hudson Williams and François Arnaud condemn fans sending hate to the cast

11 March 2026, 11:58 | Updated: 11 March 2026, 12:21

Heated Rivalry's Hudson Williams and François Arnaud share statement against fan hate. Picture: Getty

By Sam Prance

"Don’t call yourself a fan if you share racist / homophobic / biphobic / misogynist / ageist / ableist / parasocial / bigoted comments of any kind."

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Heated Rivalry's Hudson Williams and François Arnaud are condemning so-called fans who are spreading hate online.

Ever since Heated Rivarly debuted on Crave in 2025, the drama has garnered an intense, loyal fandom. Based on the Rachel Reid book of the same name, the show follows two rival hockey players who secretly fall in love and, for the most part, fans have celebrated the show and the actors who play Shane, Ilya and the rest of the characters.

However, there has been some toxicity - with fans even bullying Scott Hunter actor François Arnaud over his alleged relationship with co-star Connor Storrie (Ilya). Now, François and Hudson Williams (Shane) have take to Instagram together to post a statement against hatred being shared in the name of Heated Rivalry.

Read more: Heated Rivalry's François Arnaud speaks out after Connor Storrie dating rumours
Read more: Heated Rivalry's Hudson Williams explains why he avoids co-star Connor Storrie

Watch the Heated Rivalry trailer

Taking to Instagram stories on March 9th, François and Hudson simultaneously shared the same statement. The joint post, which appears to be directed at the Heated Rivalry fandom, reads: “Don’t call yourself a fan if you share racist / homophobic / biphobic / misogynist / ageist / ableist / parasocial / bigoted comments of any kind."

The pair of them continued: "None of us need your hateful 'love'. We all respect and support and love each other and are on the same side. If you can’t accept that gtfoh (get the f--- out of here)."

Taking to Threads, Hudson separately said: "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."

Hudson Williams and François Arnaud's statement. Picture: Instagram, Threads

Heated Rivalry actor Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova, who plays Svetlana, reposted the statement and said: "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."

She added: "We’re not characters and neither are our real friends, partners, family and making up false narratives about us isn’t ‘love.’"