I took a crack at translating the Paris Match article into English, if anyone wants it.
(this translation is 100% krb. Fuck AI. you'll see my translator's notes throughout. all mistakes are 100% organic, homegrown human)
Hudson Williams: why so much hate?
Hudson Williams, star of the series "Heated Rivalry", is contuing on his incredible rise to fame. But his success comes with a hatred that is becoming progressively harder to ignore.
On the internet there are the haters and the trolls. Those one must ignore, whose words rarely reflect public opinion. But there are also mass attacks--organized or not--that can end up destroying careers. In 2013, while promoting her film, "Les Misérables", Anne Hathaway was the victim of online harrassment, based only on the fact that people found her "annoying". Ten years later, after some time spent far removed from the media circus, she looked back on the injustice she suffered, explaining that these insults tarnished her reputation, to a point. "Many people wouldn't even offer me parts because I had become this anathema online," [paraphrasing, kinda] she confided in Vanity Fair.
While today, she is a social media darling once again, she talked about how difficult that time had been for her: "humiliation is a terrible experience. The key is to not get beaten down. You have to be brave, and it can be hard because you say to yourself, 'If I'm careful, if I don't stand out, if I don't aim too high, I won't get hurt.' But if that's how you want to live, don't be an actor." [again, paraphrasing slightly]
Women and people of colour are most often the targets of this kind of cyberbullying. That's what "Heated Rivalry" star Hudson Williams is living right now. Paris Match has already talked about the hate he was receiving, a month ago. Now, weeks later, the situation seems to have only worsened. The 25-year-old Canadian has become Public Enemy Number One on one platform in particuliar: X. Every day, hate tweets about him are posted which sometimes amass hundreds of thousands of likes. Even more shocking is that certain publications and journalists have started participating in the discourse, some calling the actor--like Anna Hathaway in her day--annoying, others comparing him to his castmates such as Connor Storrie and François Arnaud.
Naturally, his fans are now wondering if he's the target of a kind of orchestrated campaign known as astroturfing, which aims to manipulate discourse, slander a celebrity, generate the false appearance of high engagement, or promote disinformation. Another, more likely, theory has also been proposed. Rage-baiting has become particularly vicious since Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter and the complete lack of moderation. Since then, premium X users who've purchased the famous blue checkmark, which used to signify the account of a public figure, can monetize their interactions. And hateful or mocking messages, or outright targeted attacks, are the fastest and easiest way to garner engagement and reactions. The more interactions, the more the poster gets paid.
On the other hand, there are always groups of netizens who tend to extremes, either adoring or despising certain celebrities. One effect of these groups who dehumanize celebrities is that they normalize--even from journalists on their official accounts--derogatory speech that would never be spoken aloud in real life.
And these are the hundreds or thousands of accounts, every day, who enjoy insulting Hudson Williams. Some pages, that are dedicated exclusively to attacking him, promote such hateful discourse that their messages had to be censored according to the law of the European Union. Recently, it was revealed that several users joined forces to post attacks simultaneously and rack up thousands of likes, to manipulate the algorithm. Leaked private messages amongst these users show them wishing misfortune on the actor. People close to him, notably his mother, were also insulted.
It's hard not to see it just as a ploy to make money by targeting a young actor. Because since the first episodes of "Heated Rivalry" aired, Hudson Williams has been harassed because of his heritage from his Canadian father and Korean mother. This is a recurring problem in showbusiness which often afflicts the actors and actresses of colour who find themselves singled out amidst predominantly white casts. Fans of actor Taylor Zakhar Perez, from the film "Red, White and Royal Blue", remember the hate he received when he came on the scene, because of his Mexican heritage. "Bridgerton" lovers have also been accused of racism, even while the series itself prioritizes all kinds of representation. Fans have criticized the creators for "giving in to the demands of political correctness."
Regé Jean Page, a series regular in Season 1, faced online hate for his skin colour. There was a resurgence in the attacks when his departure was announced, which many people today attribute to the lack of support he received from the production team during the tsunami of hatred he experienced. Hannah Dodd, a current "Bridgerton" cast member, has spoken out in support of her black costar Masali Baduza, who was also the victim of online hate. "What's important to me right now is protecting Masali and protecting everyone being subjected to this harmful speech online."
It's in the form of microagressions that these attacks usually manifest, which make the underlying racism more insidious, but no less harmful. Hudson's costars are called "classy, elegant, Hollywood-ready" while Hudson is deemed a "Kpop idol" or "just an influencer" [the word used literally translates to "vulgar", which has connotations like "common", "tacky" or "trashy"] A selection of these kinds of attacks: "It has nothing to do with skin colour. It's about behaviour. Connor makes tasteful things with decorum, in good measure, at the right place and time", "You're treating Hudson like an influencer whereas Connor is the next big Hollywood star and he will become a serious actor" , "I understand Connor's team's strategy: precision, restraint, luxury. They're aiming for premium, the cream of the crop. I don't understand Hudson's strategy. What's he trying to attract? Teens? Kpop fans? I just see chaos."
Bear in mind that this is how Ottawa Public Health defines this form of racism: "Microagressions are subtle verbal, behavioral and environmental signals that translate to negative, derogatory or outright hostile, racially-charged insults directed at people of colour. They're so ubiquitous and careless during day-to-day interactions that they're often overlooked and dismissed as innocent."
The media can commit microagressions as well. A couple weeks ago, the Entertainment Tonight official instagram account sparked fury amongst fans with a post that said, "Connor and Hudson this. Connor and Hudson that. We love Ilya and Shane, but can we take a moment to appreciate the duo everyone needs: Ilya Rozanov and Scott Hunter." The caption accompanied a photo of Connor Storrie and François Arnaud, who play Ilya Rozanov and Scott Hunter, respectively, characters who notably did not interact at all in the show. Comments on the post include, "yeah it's a great idea to erase the only main character of colour to pair Ilya with another white character", "This is an insane caption. The main characters are Ilya and Shane", "We're erasing the only person of colour?", "I'm genuinely wondering how someone could post that and couldn't tell how bad it was. The way they're openly ready to erase the only Asian character for a pair of white dudes." In response to the backlash, Entertainment Tonight updated the caption.
Why is he being criticized?
So what is people's problem with Hudson Williams? In reality...nothing that his costars haven't also done: smoking, partying, joking in interviews, going viral. A criticism frequently levied at Hollywood is that people of colour are expected to be demure and discreet, but they need twice the exposure to get the same opportunities as white people. On that topic, African American actress Zendaya once talked about being "the acceptable version of a young black girl in Hollywood" because she fit the mold and had lighter skin than other stars. "What I want to say is: you have to make your own opportunities. Sometimes, you have to forge your own path. That's true of anything: Hollywood, art, whatever."
The inciting event of this cyberbullying? Screenshots from Letterboxd, a site where cinephiles can log and review the films they watch. Many reviews, allegedly written by Williams, sparked controversy, which gave people who wanted to hate him an excuse to do it openly. The Letterboxd "scandal" broke on the same day as his debut on Jimmy Fallon's talk show, which caused his fans to question the suspicious timing of the revelations. [I took some liberties with the exact wording, in an attempt to capture the tone] Hudson Williams eventually confirmed in an interview that the reviews were fake.
Another reason people are hating? Hudson Williams has a girlfriend but plays a gay character in "Heated Rivalry." Accused of "queerbaiting"--exploiting LGBTQ+ culture for clout while being straight [translators note: that's not even what queerbaiting is] --he's been the target of many more insults. It should be noted that Williams has never explicitly confirmed his sexual preference(s) but once simply stated that he thinks that "sexuality is much more fluid than people think it is."
In an interview with Wonderland magazine, Hudson Williams commented on the hate he's getting: "I didn't think there would be so many disrespectful people. But I also didn't think there would be such kind people either [...] But the disrespectful ones are like, 'this dude should go fuck himself' and I'm like, 'shit, why do these people hate me?' And there's always fake news about me. I'm like, how do I already have fake news?" The attacks on Williams are even more surprising because Williams' coworkers, friends and members of his entourage all have nothing but good things to say about him. "He's so warm and kind," actress Sophie Nélisse said in an interview. "In our friend group, he has always been a bright star and the one to watch. He has this raw talent and you know he's gonna go far," Mark Masterton, one of his university classmates, told USA Today.
While neither Jacob Tierney, showrunner, nor Rachel Reid, author of the source books, nor his costars have spoken out about the racism experienced by Hudson Williams, the latter continues to navigate his burgeoning career with intelligence. Embraced by Gold House, which promotes the best interests of Asian people and Pacific Islanders, he was recently invited to host a Lunar New Year celebration in the company of many other Asian big names in the industry. A thorough rebuttal to those who claim that Williams is "not Korean enough" to be the victim of racism.
Balenciaga has made him the face of their new campaign, and Crave--the Canadian streaming platform that produced "Heated Rivalry"--has announced his part in a series inspired by the Slavic myth of Baba Yaga. This announcement garnered a reaction among his detractors, who claim that Crave is not "prestigious" enough, thus proving that he'll never succeed in Hollywood. And in the end, isn't the irony about this whole story that this hate has allowed Hudson Williams to mobilize a loyal fanbase who are ready to follow him and defend him, no matter what?
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