The show, which chronicles the intense professional and personal relationships between three gay pro hockey players, has captured a massive audience with its raw portrayal of love and struggle in a hyper-masculine world. Now, actor Hudson Williams, who delivers a stunning performance as the tormented, closeted star Shane Hollander, has revealed the series' impact is echoing far beyond the screen.
In a recent interview on SiriusXM’s “Andy Cohen Live,” Williams confirmed that he has been receiving messages from active professional athletes who see their own hidden lives reflected in his character.
“I’m still a professional player and I’m still in the closet,”
Williams told Cohen that the messages come from athletes across various sports, including hockey, football, and basketball. Some reach out anonymously through the book series’ author, Rachel Reid, while others send private messages directly to him on social media. “Those ones are the ones that really just kind of hit you,” Williams admitted, acknowledging that while the show is celebratory, “sometimes it’s just hitting people right in the nerves.”
While ‘Heated Rivalry’ is set in the North American hockey world, its themes resonate deeply here in the Netherlands, where discussions about inclusivity in sports like football are ongoing and openly gay male athletes in top leagues remain a rarity. The anonymous outreach to Williams underscores the immense pressure athletes still face globally and the vital importance of authentic queer representation.
Challenging the Double Standard on Queer Intimacy
The conversation with Andy Cohen also turned to a predictable point of criticism: the show's supposedly “graphic” sex scenes. Both Cohen and Williams were quick to call out the double standard at play.
“It’s actually no more graphic than ‘Bridgerton’ or any other show that shows straight sex,” Cohen pointed out. Williams agreed, noting that the show's director was very conscious of this. “If this were straight sex scenes people would be like, ‘Oh, we don’t see anything,’” Williams explained. “There are no boobs in the show. There’s no dicks in the show. There’s just a lot of butt... if that were a straight intimate scene, it wouldn’t be talked about in that way.”
Tackling Toxic Masculinity Head-On
Beyond on-screen representation, Williams also spoke about his personal mission to challenge the toxic masculinity his character battles. When a viewer praised him for dismantling these harmful norms, Williams credited his healthy upbringing and a frustration with societal “taboos” around physical affection between men.
“Especially with Connor [Storrie], who I love dearly, it was something I was always kind of adamant that no matter what people think or want to infer, like, I’m always going to just physically express my love,” he said. “I feel like if you’re still biased or jaded or uncomfortable with expressing physical love for people in 2025, you got to… get over yourself.”
It’s a powerful statement that, much like the show itself, serves as both entertainment and a crucial conversation starter, proving that sometimes the most important stories are the ones that give a voice to those who feel they don't have one.
