Actor Hudson Williams has been linked to a resurfaced photo with a drawing of a swastika on his head, but insiders close to the star say he wasn’t aware it was there.
The Canadian actor, 25, who plays Shane Hollander on the HBO Max drama Heated Rivalry, was seen in a picture uploaded to social media over the weekend with the symbol clearly drawn above his right eyebrow.
Sources linked to the Kelowna, Canada-born actor told TMZ on Sunday that the photograph was taken while the actor was a high school student in his home country.
Williams had been taking part in a rite-of-passage campout where students are known to consume alcohol and pull pranks on one another, insiders told the outlet.
Some of the practical jokes included Sharpie drawings on people’s faces, bodies and clothes, sources said, purposely penning things that would be extremely offensive as a joke.
The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Williams for further comment on the story.
Actor Hudson Williams, 25, has come under fire for being seen in a resurfaced photo with a drawing of a swastika on his head, but insiders close to the actor say he wasn’t aware it was there. Pictured May 31 at the Canadian Screen Awards in Ontario
Williams was not aware of the things that were being sketched on his face by his drunken peers, sources told the outlet.
‘The markings do not and have never reflected Hudson’s beliefs, values, or character,’ a friend of the actor’s told the outlet.
Insiders close to the actor said the swastika was the result of a group of kids engaged in ‘dumb things’ due to alcohol.
Their conduct was described to the outlet as ‘completely inexcusable,’ according to the report, and Williams is ‘keenly aware’ of that and deeply regretful about the incident.
Williams ‘recognizes the seriousness’ attached to the symbol and renounces all ideas and beliefs associated with it, insiders close to the actor told the outlet.
Williams did not appear to address the controversy on his Instagram account, on which he has more than 4.4 million followers.
Williams, appearing earlier this year on Andy Cohen Live, said he welcomed people examining his personal life.
‘You can look at whatever I said, I don’t care,’ Williams said. ‘I’m pretty chill about it. On a scale of freaking me out it’s like a 2 out of 10.’
Williams was seen in a picture uploaded to social media over the weekend with the symbol clearly drawn above his right eyebrow
Williams plays Shane Hollander on the HBO Max drama Heated Rivalry
He added: ‘There are going to be people who have crazy reactions to it, but those people can take a hike because the people who have a healthy reaction are the only people that I care about or respect for having a developed frontal cortex.’
Williams and his Heated Rivalry costars Francois Arnaud, Sophie Nélisse and Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova hit back at trolls within the show’s fandom over a series of toxic communications they had been receiving online as the show gained profile.
‘Don’t call yourself a fan if you share racist/homophobic/biphobic/ misogynistic/ageist/ableist/parasocial/ bigoted comments of any kind,’ the message posted by the actors read. ‘None of us need your hateful “love.”‘
They added, ‘We all respect and support and love each other and are on the same side if you can’t accept that gtfoh.’
Kharlamova added a note imploring the people sending them the toxic messages to remember that the show is about love.
‘Please, don’t turn something on the internet that is about love into hate,’ Kharlamova said. ‘So much love was put into this project and we all have a genuine respect for every person involved in making it.’
She added, ‘We are not characters, nor are our real friends, partners, or family, and creating false narratives about us is not love.
‘So many good things have come out of this series, so let’s keep it that way. Share the love, the art, the dance parties, the friends that have been made, the positivity.’