Hudson Williams, the 25-year-old star of the hit series Heated Rivalry, is facing heavy online criticism after an old photograph from his high school days resurfaced on social media. The picture shows Williams with multiple drawings on his face and shirt, including a swastika marked on his forehead. The image began spreading widely on platforms like Reddit and X over the weekend of June 6-7, 2026.
Sources close to the actor have since spoken out, claiming Williams was unaware of the symbol at the time the photo was taken. The controversy comes just one week after Williams won Best Lead Performer in a Drama Series at the Canadian Screen Awards on May 31, 2026.
What The Resurfaced Photo Shows
The photograph appears to be from a gathering during Williams’ teenage years in his hometown in British Columbia, Canada. In the image, Williams is wearing a blue shirt covered in black marker drawings. His face also has multiple markings, with the most concerning being a swastika drawn above his right eyebrow or on his forehead depending on the angle.
The symbol is widely recognized as a hate symbol representing racism, fascism, and white supremacy due to its use by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party. Williams was around high school age when the picture was taken, and he is now 25 years old.
Sources Claim Williams Did Not Know About The Drawing
According to a TMZ report published on June 7, multiple unnamed sources close to Williams explained the context behind the photo. They said the picture was taken during an annual high school “campout” tradition in his hometown. The event reportedly involved teenagers drinking alcohol and drawing on each other’s shirts and bodies with Sharpie markers as a way to get shocking reactions.
A friend of Williams told TMZ that the actor “had no idea” what was drawn on his face at the time the photo was taken. The same source added:
“The markings do not and have never reflected Hudson’s beliefs, values, or character.”
Sources also said Williams now understands how serious the situation is. TMZ reported that he “deeply regrets” the photo and “understands the hurt and disappointment” it has caused. The sources called the incident “completely inexcusable” and stated that Williams does not condone or support the offensive markings.
Social Media Reacts With Mixed Opinions
Online reaction has been divided. Some social media users called for accountability, while others defended Williams as a teenager who made a mistake.
One user on X wrote: “Teens have common sense, y’all need to stop trying to excuse stuff as ‘teenage stupidity’ for these celebrities and hold them accountable.”
However, many fans came to his defense. One user said: “The real crime is how fast the internet turns teenage stupidity into lifelong headlines.”
Another wrote: “This is such a fโฆing non story. Your actions as a silly teenager don’t define you. Hudson doesn’t owe anyone any kind of explanation or apologies. My god, if the entire internet had their teenage years hung out then nobody would get anything done.”
A third added: “Teenagers make mistakes.”
Williams Previously Spoke Against Hate Online
The controversy arrives just months after Williams publicly condemned hateful behavior within the Heated Rivalry fanbase. In March 2026, he shared a message on social media directed at toxic fans, saying “none of us need your hateful ‘love’.”
He added: “Don’t call yourself a fan if you share racist/homophobic/biphobic/misogynistic/ageist/ableist/parasocial/bigoted comments of any kind.”
Williams has not yet released a personal public statement directly addressing the resurfaced photo. His representatives have not responded to requests for comment from multiple news outlets including Page Six and HuffPost as of June 8, 2026.
Heated Rivalry And Williams’ Rising Career
Heated Rivalry is a queer hockey romance series based on author Rachel Reid‘s books. The show streams on HBO Max (known as Max) and Crave in Canada. Williams plays Shane Hollander, one half of the central couple alongside Connor Storrie who plays Ilya Rozanov.
The series premiered in November 2025 and became a breakout hit. At the 2026 Canadian Screen Awards held on May 31 in Toronto, the show won a record-breaking 16 awards including Best Drama Series. Williams made history as the youngest actor to win Best Lead Performer, Drama Series.
During his acceptance speech, Williams thanked his on-screen partner Storrie, saying: “If I could cut this award down the middle I would because if these gay, yearning, little bottom eyes didn’t have a big sexy Russian to feast upon, my performance wouldn’t be as good.”
He also publicly acknowledged his longtime girlfriend Katelyn Larson during the speech, saying: “My partner Katelyn, wherever you areโฆthere you are, love you, thank you so much for always keeping me stable because sometimes I’m- I’m not.”
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Recent Scrutiny Before This Incident
The resurfaced photo comes just weeks after Williams faced separate online scrutiny over allegations of an alleged social media burner account. Those claims generated widespread discussion among fans and critics, though no confirmed evidence was publicly presented.
Williams addressed questions about people looking into his personal life during an appearance on Andy Cohen Live in January 2026. He said: “You can look at whatever I said, I don’t careโฆI’m pretty chill about it. On a scale of freaking me out it’s like a 2 out of 10.”
He added: “There are going to be people who have crazy reactions to it, but those people can take a hike because the people who have a healthy reaction are the only people that I care about or respect for having a developed frontal cortex.”
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