François Arnaud is sending a pointed message amid harassment from fans of Heated Rivalry.

On Friday, Jan. 16, the actor, 40, shared a post to Instagram that included three photos of costar Hudson Williams smiling as he held up his middle fingers to the camera, obscured by some heart emojis. The fourth photo showed Arnaud, who plays Scott Hunter on the HBO Max show, also holding up his middle finger with a heart emoji on top.

“Learning from the very best. @hudsonwilliamsofficial,” Arnaud wrote in the caption, before adding the post to his Instagram Stories with the Wolf Parade track “I’ll Believe in Anything” — which was featured in an episode of the same name during Scott’s breakup with Kip (Robbie Graham-Kuntz).

Williams replied to Arnaud’s post with middle finger and heart emojis. “love u,” he wrote.

Arnaud’s post comes amid reports that he had been subject to online harassment from the series’ fans after he was seen arriving at JFK airport in New York City with costar Connor Storrie on Wednesday, Jan. 14.

Soon after, Page Six reported that Arnaud unfollowed hundreds of accounts on Instagram — including those belonging to Williams, 24, Graham-Kuntz, 29, Storrie, 25 and Heated Rivalry creator Jacob Tierney.

Though, as of Friday, Jan. 16, he was following his costars and the showrunner again.

Connor Storrie and Franaçois Arnaud spotted at JFK airport on Jan. 14, 2026.BlayzenPhotos/BACKGRID 

Arnaud has been candid in recent weeks about his relationship with social media as Heated Rivalry grows more and more popular.

During an interview on SiriusXM’s Radio Andy, the Canadian actor shared that he “tries not to be” too “chronically online,” as host Andy Cohen put it. “I actually blocked Twitter access from my phone,” he shared. “I don’t wanna be able to know what people are thinking.”

“I did a show years ago called The Borgias which, there was a not quite as intense fandom, but pretty intense,” he continued, before calling X a “cesspool.” He added, “It was rough, like, ‘Oh I can’t.’ “

François Arnaud as Scott Hunter and Robbie G.K. as Kip Grady in ‘Heated Rivalry.’.Sabrina Lantos/HBO Max 

The steamy LGBTQ+ drama is based on Rachel Reid’s Game Changers book series and was created by Tierney for Canadian streaming service Crave. It follows Shane Hollander (Williams), a Canadian hockey superstar, and Ilya Rozanov (Storrie), a cocky Russian phenom, whose fierce on-ice rivalry begins when they meet as teenagers and later turns into secret, explosive hookups over the years.

Heated Rivalry was later picked up for distribution by HBO Max, and it has since become the platform’s top-rated non-animated acquired series and a top-five scripted debut of last year. The series was renewed for season 2 in December 2025.