Heated Rivalry became one of the hottest titles on TV nearly as soon as its premiere on November 28.
The show – set in the world of Canadian ice hockey follows fierce competition among its athlete characters – and its stars, specifically Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, became swift mainstays among viewers and the pop culture machine.
However, as with most popular trends, the rising stars attracted negative attention just as quickly, mainly stemming from social media.
A controversial storm first began to brew when various social media users discovered Williams’ Letterboxd account, from before his breakthrough, where he dissed many of his current peers to his heart’s content. It included internet favourites Rachel Zegler and Pedro Pascal.
Despite the 24-year-old actor later inspiring passionate defence for his freedom of expression, including a think piece by Vulture titled “Please Let Celebrities Have Letterboxd Accounts in Peace”, the social media commotion eventually turned personal.
While questioning the quality of the recent hit show’s content and its acting, several X (formerly Twitter) users began airing digs about the cast’s looks.
Moreover, the snap which generated endless discourse was additionally missing one of Heated Rivalry’s comparitively less popular female actors, Nadine Bhabha, who was inexplicably cropped from the version which appeared in the aforementioned tweet.
Heated Rivalry’s success and message was largely eclipsed by the polarising discourse about everything else.
Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie continued their press-heavy run following their debut at the 2026 Golden Globes, where they presented the award for Best Supporting Female Actor in a TV Series.
