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If you have a pulse or a TikTok account or follow Busy Philipps on Instagram, by now you probably know just how emotional Heated Rivalry can make a person. What starts as a hot and smutty show about two closeted male hockey players having an illicit yearslong relationship manages to become something that will make you sob happy tears while listening to Wolf Parade on repeat. If that’s how it’s making us feel, imagine how hard it’s hitting for the actual closeted pro athletes who are watching — because they are watching.
In an interview on “Radio Andy” Wednesday, Heated Rivalry star Hudson Williams told Andy Cohen he has heard from several closeted athletes who watch the show. The actor said he receives messages from anonymous people who’ve told him, “I’m a professional player still, and I’m still in the closet.” Cohen asked if he meant he had heard from hockey players, and Williams said, “Hockey players, football players, basketball players.”
“They’re reaching out to Rachel Reid, our author, who will then kind of relay these lovely anonymous emails,” Williams continued. “Sometimes, they’re just reaching out privately through Instagram.” Williams said those DMs are the ones that make him go, Oh, so this is a fun show and it’s celebratory, but also sometimes it’s just hitting people right in the nerves.
I am wishing the best for these athletes and at the very least hoping they have access to a secluded cottage for a couple of weeks in the summer.
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