Despite repeated calls from the actors of the show, fans just can't seem to avoid turning their love of Heated Rivalry into creepy, parasocial behaviour.
With production on the way for the second season of the smash Crave hit, Hudson Williams’ girlfriend Katelyn Larson is asking Heated Rivalry fans to leave their curiosity out of her profession.
Larson, a Vancouver-area tattoo artist who has been dating Williams for several years, addressed what she described as recent boundary-crossing behaviour at her studio in an Instagram Story on Sept. 22. According to Larson, some fans have been booking tattoo appointments because of her connection to the hit hockey drama, then using those appointments to ask her coworkers personal questions about her and Williams.
“Booking an appointment with me or anyone else purely because of the connection to the show crosses a huge territory,” Larson wrote, calling the questions “hugely uncomfortable for everyone.”
She made a distinction between fans who discovered her work through Heated Rivalry and those treating the studio as a backdoor into Williams’ personal life. Following her or another artist because they genuinely like their tattoos, she said, is completely fine. Booking an appointment solely because of the show, however, is not.
Larson has largely stayed away from the spotlight, a preference Williams has acknowledged in interviews. “She’s not trying to be out there or be perceived,” he told ETalk Canada in March.
Williams plays Shane Hollander in the series, opposite Connor Storrie’s Ilya Rozanov. Their characters’ secret romance turned the Canadian production into a breakout hit, while the chemistry between the two actors helped fuel a massive online fandom.
The actor has also faced other uncomfortable encounters with fans, including a confrontation with autograph seekers earlier this year. Heated Rivalry is currently filming its second season in Canada, with the next chapter expected to arrive on HBO Max and Crave in April 2027.
