“Heated Rivalry” star Hudson Williams has a controversy on his hands ― or, rather, his head. A photo surfaced purportedly of the younger actor with a swastika drawn above his right eyebrow ― but TMZ said in a report there’s an explanation. Citing multiple unnamed sources, TMZ reported that Williams was participating in a high school tradition in his British Columbia hometown in which teens draw Sharpie images on each other. The headline blares that Williams, now 25, was “unaware” at the time that the
Nazi symbol was on his face when the photo was taken. “The markings do not and have never reflected Hudson’s beliefs, values, or character,” a friend told TMZ. “Heated Rivalry,” a steamy series about the love affair of two gay hockey players, turbocharged the careers of Williams and co-star Connor Storrie. It began streaming on HBO Max in late November. But burgeoning celebrity can also mean unwanted scrutiny. TMZ wrote that sources attributed the “inexcusable” incident to “underage kids doing ‘dumb things’ while under the
influence.” HuffPost has reached out to Williams’ publicist for comment, but for now his defense comes via an awkward passage by TMZ: “Those close to the actor say he understands the hurt and disappointment the photo has caused and deeply regrets it. We’re told he does not condone or support the offensive markings that were drawn on him and recognizes the seriousness of the symbol seen in the image.”
Hudson Williams, Heated Rivalry, Connor Storrie, swastika photo, British Columbia, HBO Max, Sharpie tradition, Nazi symbol controversy
Wait so it was Sharpie? Still looks wild though.
I mean the guy’s 25 now, so who cares what teens did? But the headline makes it sound like he literally didn’t know, which is kinda hard to believe. TMZ always acts like they know the whole story.
British Columbia high school tradition?? That sounds like something everyone says after the fact. Like “oh it was dumb kids” yeah okay but it’s still a Nazi symbol. Also Heated Rivalry is about gay hockey players so maybe they’re trying to deflect the whole thing away from the show drama.
Regrets it… sure. If it was really Sharpie from some dumb tradition, why is it a whole swastika above his eyebrow like that? Doesn’t matter if it was a prank, it’s still Nazi imagery. And now HBO Max is involved so everyone wants a PR clean-up, that’s what it feels like.