The Dangers of Fandom

Star of HBO’s hit gay hockey drama Heated Rivalry, Hudson Williams, sent certain parts of the internet spiralling earlier this month by posting on his official Threads account that ‘Rpfing gotta stop y’all ‘. Though this statement may seem innocuous to some, Williams has, in fact, knowingly or unknowingly waded into a fandom phenomenon with an intense history.

For those who don’t know: RPFing stands for Real Person Fiction. Basically, fanfiction written by fans of certain celebrities involving their public personas and (usually) real-life family and friends. RPFing covers: celebrities, musicians, politicians, and even infamous serial killers. Fans will ship or couple their favourite personas and write them into a variety of (usually sexual) situations.

Many see this as a harmless expression of devotion towards their fandom of choice, but over the years there have been some very real-world consequences. For starters, the majority of fan-inspired couples or ‘ships’ are gay couples (usually male/male). And when the actors of these ships are heterosexual or in a heterosexual presenting relationship, it can be awkward for all those involved.

In the case of Williams, he is being ‘shipped’ with his co-star and close friend Connor Storrie. In the actual TV show, Williams and Storrie play two young famous hockey players who embark on a clandestine affair filled with steamy, graphic sex scenes (it is HBO after all!). The pair became close on set and even got matching ‘sex sells’ tattoos. Hudson has a long-term girlfriend who is not a celebrity and remains nameless, but both Williams and Storrie have not disclosed their sexualities.

The pair will often be seen at events holding hands, hugging, and in general, being very tactile with each other. They speak very highly of one another, and in a world full of toxic masculinity, it’s refreshing to see two men engage in a wholesome, close friendship. Both have stated that despite fan and press speculation, their relationship is completely platonic. However, some fans have taken umbrage with the fact that Williams has been perceived to ‘police a fandom’ for speculating about his relationships while constantly sitting on Storrie’s lap or being read as ‘flirty’ towards his co-star. The cynicism continues with some fans even accusing the pair of being strategic with their PDA’s to drum up attention for their show. Along with neither disclosing their sexualities, they have been accused of being ‘gay for pay’ or taking roles from openly queer actors.

The stars’ chemistry has made Heated Rivalry a global phenomenon despite it only being released seven months ago. Fans have pointed out that their chemistry has to be real offscreen as well. Yet…we have heard this tune before. Many times in fact.

In 2017, Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name was released, starring a little-known actor (at the time), Timothée Chalamet, and Armie Hammer. Much like Heated Rivalry, the pair’s chemistry made what was initially a low-budget project into a cultural touchstone. At the time, people speculated about the stars’ relationship despite there being a decade between them and Hammer having a wife and two children. “You can’t fake that kind of chemistry!” Was the oft-heard explanation. On Hammer’s Wikipedia page, his spouse was changed from his now-ex-wife’s to Chalamet’s name, twice.

Hammer’s ex-wife, Elizabeth Chambers, is a celebrity and entrepreneur in her own right, but at the time her Instagram received several hate comments from Chalamet and Hammer shippers; despite Chambers always being an advocate of the movie and supportive of the titular pair’s friendship, and even having Chalamet as a houseguest at her home when he was working in LA. Hammer’s past is now notorious, but in this instance, he publicly blocked many fans and declared on his own Instagram that he would be prepared to block anyone who disrespected his wife. Chalamet (maybe wisely) stayed silent during the whole exchange.

A certain subset of shippers see the actors’ real-life romantic partners as an obstacle for their chosen pairing. What became known as The Johnlock Conspiracy (TJLC) surrounding BBC Sherlock (2010-2017), in ye olde days of Tumblr (that website has a lot to answer for), some fans of Sherlock became convinced that the writers of the show were going to have the famous duo confess their non-platonic feelings for one another. The conspiracy had everything: subtext, an alleged super-secret hidden episode, and even frame-by-frame analysis. For casual observers, it was interesting at the time, but all the speculation led to an almost universally panned final episode. TJLC fans were disappointed, and many took out their ire on the show’s creators and cast members through various social media platforms.

The lackluster finale wasn’t the only Sherlock situation that put certain cast members in the crosshairs with some of their fans. In 2014, series 3 of Sherlock introduced their version of John Watson’s (Martin Freeman) canonical wife, Mary Morstan, played by Freeman’s then partner, and mother to their children, Amanda Abbington. Some fans were angry by this perceived obstacle to Sherlock and John’s burgeoning romance. Though said “fans” should have maybe expected Mary’s appearance at some point (the Sherlock Holmes story is only over 100 years old). Despite making the two-dimensional character of Mary funny, relatable, and badass, Abbington still received more than her fair share of hate from fans.

In hindsight, Abbington admitted she took the hate “very badly” (Independent, 2022) early on. Calling herself “naïve and a bit stupid” when she tried to engage with Johnlock shippers on Twitter (X). The award-winning actress tried to reason with the fanbase, saying she felt Sherlock and John were more interesting as a friendship rather than a queer romance. Abbington, in return, received death threats for her troubles. At least one of which, they had to make the police aware of.

Similar to Abbington, Williams has poked the proverbial hornet’s nest of rabid fans. With many calling out his entitlement and reminding him that passionate fans put him (and Storrie) where he is, with many of his dreams coming true. Before Heated Rivalry, both actors were working as waiters, and now they are walking the MET Gala carpet and being nominated for BAFTA’s. Basically, they should grin and bear it; their newfound popularity!

Some fans subscribe to the notion that RPFing is fine, just don’t send it to the actors in question or make them aware of it. Many actors of hit shows describe being sent and even being given somewhat questionable fan creations. Most actors seem to be able to laugh it off or even compliment the talent and imagination of said fans. But, when it’s you and not your character who’s being written about, dissected, and used as a prop for someone’s imaginary storylines, is this still just part of the territory? If celebrities want to have their art praised, promoted, and compensated, are they to be expected to put up with this aspect? They asked for fame, but their non-famous friends and family being used in the fanfiction certainly did not!

Ultimately, it’s going to start affecting Williams and Storries’ friendship (if it hasn’t already). We have precedent for this with another famous RPF ship; the British band One Direction’s Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson. In an interview with The Sun, Tomlinson talks about the conspiracy that he and his bandmate Styles were a couple and how it drove a wedge through their friendship. This was two young men not only dealing with the perils of fame but also being aware that “…everyone was looking into everything we did” (The Sun, 2017) with someone he considered a close friend. Tomlinson said the constant fan speculation took away “the vibe” of the pair’s friendship.

The same very well could happen with Connor and Storrie, if some fans and publications are not careful. Heated Rivalry is only in its first season, and it is not even a year old yet. Unlike with past fanbases, the majority of the world is now chronically online, everything is happening a lot quicker, and with more immediate consequences. Williams eventually deleted his Threads comment, but too many people had already screenshotted it, and here we are. Williams is already receiving abuse and racist slurs targeting his Korean heritage. A fandom may, yet again, rapidly be turning toxic. If fans want a season 2 with the same amount of visceral chemistry, fan engagement with actors and creators may need to be rethought. The word ‘boundaries’ is rapidly becoming a controversial word in today’s lexicon.

It’s interesting that the TV show – and the book series on which it’s based – is about two men having to hide their relationship because of the toxic masculine world they are a part of, while in the real world, its main actors may also have to adjust their relationship to fit preconceived notions of male friendships. Life imitates art.

This is why we can’t have nice things….