‘Heated Rivalry’ Star Hudson Williams Surprises Hockey Player Who Came Out After Watching: ‘Thank You for Your Bravery’ | Video
Hudson Williams shouted out hockey player Jesse Kortuem after the athlete credited “Heated Rivalry” for inspiring him to come out as gay.
The “Heated Rivalry” star, who plays closeted hockey player Shane Hollander on the hit Crave/HBO Max series, appeared via a video message for Kortuem during his appearance on “The Drew Barrymore Show” Tuesday.
“I just wanted to say thank you for watching our show and sharing the kind words you had for it,” Williams said in his video for Kortuem. “It really means a lot that our show could even play a little small part in a sort of positive thing about your life. And thank you for your bravery and just sounding like a really cool guy.”
Kortuem was visibly touched by the surprise, adding, “That’s incredible. I’m overwhelmed … I didn’t realize that one story could spark a conversation, could encourage others to finally find the strength to be themselves.”
Watch the moment below:
Kortuem, who played as a defenseman and center in several leagues, went viral for publicly coming out as gay earlier this month. In his Facebook post, the athlete credited “Heated Rivalry” as a reason he felt compelled to share his journey.
“I am a private person. Those who know me best know that I don’t share much if anything publicly on social media,” he wrote at the time. “But lately, something has sparked in me (OK – yes credit to #HeatedRivalry). I realized it is finally time to share a journey I have kept close to the vest for a long time.”
He added: “Coming out in the 2000s did not feel like an option, especially with so little positive representation in the media at the time.”
Kortuem expressed a similar sentiment on “The Drew Barrymore Show,” noting, “I finally felt like I needed to be that role model that I never had when I was that kid.”
“So, to be honest, the TV show really did inspire me to do this,” he shared. “I saw myself in some of those characters and, at the end of the day, I just kept on having to remind myself that this is a fictional story that gets that fairy tale ending. And there’s not a lot of gay athletes out there that get this fairy tale ending.”
Based on the “Game Changers” book series, “Heated Rivalry” follows two hockey stars (played by Williams and Connor Storrie) as they fall into a years-spanning secret romance.
Back in December, the show nabbed a Season 2 renewal from Crave and HBO Max, where all the episodes from Season 1 are available to stream.
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