On-screen, the chemistry between Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov is undeniable — but Hudson Williams doesn’t want Heated Rivalry fans to think the romance extends to real life. After he and Connor Storrie had a buzzy reunion at the Met Gala, Williams took notice of some passionate fans reading into things a little too much, and he sent a message making his thoughts on “RPFing” very clear.
As is to be expected of any steamy romance (especially one built from the unapologetically smutty corners of AO3), many Heated Rivalry fans were shipping Williams and Storrie in real life soon after they were announced to portray star-crossed hockey phenoms Shane and Ilya. Even after Williams confirmed he’s been with girlfriend Katelyn Larson for years, a certain section of the fandom still imagined the co-stars were more than just friends. Williams has hit back at the intense Heated Rivalry fandom before, calling out “parasocial” comments in a March 9 statement: ““None of us need your hateful ‘love.’ We all respect and support and love each other and are on the same side. If you can’t accept that gtfoh.”
Still, the narrative about Williams and Storrie sprung up once again after their appearance at the Met Gala on May 4. A Page Six report from an after-party that night claimed the co-stars were “inseperable,” describing how they walked through the party “hand-in-hand” and “even [sat] on each other’s laps.”
At the same time, one fan interpreted Williams posting the lyrics to Rihanna’s 2016 song “Woo” as some outlandish hint that he’s yearning to be with Storrie instead of his girlfriend. Upon seeing this, Williams made a rare comment about his relationships — both real and fictional.
“RPFing gotta stop yall,” Williams replied on Threads. The actor chose a term that would resonate with Heated Rivalry’s most invested fans — RPF is a fanfic term that stands for “Real People Fiction,” a controversial trend in which diehards will invent romantic fantasies shipping actual people rather than made-up characters. Clearly, Williams wants the strange investigations into his every interaction to stop.
