The next season of Heated Rivalry is not only talked about for its romantic story. A controversy involving Canadian actor Kevin Zegers is currently gaining momentum on social networks, while several admirers of the series are calling for his removal from distribution.
A petition titled Remove Kevin Zegers from Heated Rivalry season 2 no less, is currently circulating on Change.org and has already collected thousands of signatures. The initiators of the approach believe that the actor’s public positions regarding Israel and Zionism would be incompatible with the values of inclusion and acceptance conveyed by the popular LGBTQ+ series.
The petition calls on Crave, creator Jacob Tierney and producers to replace Kevin Zegers in the role of Coach Wiebe before the second season begins. The signatories argue that the series is much more than a simple love story and that it has an important place among marginalized communities thanks to its themes of diversity and acceptance.
The controversy primarily stems from the actor’s past social media posts and interactions related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The authors of the petition accuse him in particular of having supported pro-Israeli positions that they consider problematic.
For the moment, production has not publicly commented on the situation, nor has Kevin Zegers.
