François Arnaud has hit back at online harassment from fans of HBO Max’s LGBTQ+ hockey drama Heated Rivalry with a pointed Instagram post featuring his costar Hudson Williams.
At a Glance
- Arnaud shared three photos of Williams flipping off the camera, plus one of himself doing the same
- The post follows reports he was harassed after being spotted at JFK with costar Connor Storrie
- He briefly unfollowed castmates and showrunner Jacob Tierney before re-following them
- Arnaud told SiriusXM he blocks Twitter on his phone to avoid fan chatter
Why it matters: The incident highlights how intense fandom can cross into personal attacks on actors.
Social Media Strike
On Friday, Jan. 16, Arnaud, 40, uploaded a carousel of images to Instagram. Three shots show Williams, 24, grinning while raising his middle finger, the gesture partially hidden by heart emojis. A fourth frame captures Arnaud, who plays team captain Scott Hunter, making the same gesture.
“Learning from the very best. @hudsonwilliamsofficial,” Arnaud captioned the upload. He reposted it to his Instagram Stories alongside Wolf Parade’s “I’ll Believe in Anything,” the track that scored Scott’s break-up episode with Kip (Robbie Graham-Kuntz).
Williams replied in the comments with middle-finger and heart emojis, adding “love u.”
Airport Spotting Sparks Backlash
The clap-back follows sightings of Arnaud and Storrie, 25, at JFK airport on Wednesday, Jan. 14. Shortly afterward, Page Six reported that Arnaud had purged hundreds of Instagram follows, including Williams, Graham-Kuntz, Storrie and series creator Jacob Tierney.
By Friday, he had re-followed all four accounts.
Off-Screen Strategy
During a recent SiriusXM Radio Andy interview, Arnaud said he “tries not to be” chronically online. “I actually blocked Twitter access from my phone,” he told host Andy Cohen. “I don’t wanna be able to know what people are thinking.”
He compared the current frenzy to his experience on Showtime’s The Borgias, calling modern-day X a “cesspool.” “It was rough, like, ‘Oh I can’t.'”
Series Snapshot
Based on Rachel Reid’s Game Changers novels, Heated Rivalry centers on Canadian star Shane Hollander (Williams) and Russian phenom Ilya Rozanov (Storrie), whose on-ice rivalry evolves into a secret, years-long affair. The Crave original streams in the U.S. on HBO Max, where it ranks as the platform’s top-rated non-animated acquisition and a top-five scripted debut of 2025. The show was renewed for season 2 in December 2025.
Key Takeaways
- Arnaud used Instagram to answer fan harassment with humor and solidarity
- His brief unfollowing spree suggests the backlash stung
- The actor actively curbs social media to protect his mental health
- Heated Rivalry‘s popularity continues to surge ahead of its sophomore season
