That was the infamous phrase with which Kristin Chenoweth tanked her career last year. Her response to Charlie Kirk’s death was the first thing that pissed off her gay fanbase, but following it up with a non-apology that put the onus on fans to forgive Chenoweth by “knowing her heart” was the final nail in the coffin.
Because for a long time, we really didn’t know her heart. A vocal advocate for LGBTQ+ rights in the critical moment of the early 2000s, Chenoweth hadn’t said much in support of gay rights since that time. That was the problem.
It was also the problem later that year, when Debra Messing, another early LGBTQ+ ally and one-time proponent of tolerance and acceptance, decided to show her true colors by posting almost 100 bigoted memes directed at Zohran Mamdani, calling him a “communist jihadist” and “Osama bin Mamdani,” among other things.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Debra Messing has posted 91 Instagram stories in the past 24 hours. Not an exaggeration. I think Zohran has actually broken her brain, although it wasn’t in great shape before this mayoral election anyway. Fascinating albeit kinda scary to watch though pic.twitter.com/oYJuf7pMpX
— _ (@c_e_e_a_r_r) November 3, 2025
Too often, we love celebrities with our whole hearts without knowing exactly what’s in theirs.
Over the weekend, breakout Heated Rivalry star Hudson Williams faced backlash after a high school photo of him resurfaced. The unsettling photo shows Williams standing between two girls, his face and body covered with what appear to be Sharpie markings. Regretfully, one of those markings is a swastika on his forehead.
Responding to TMZ, Williams’s friends from that time explained that the actor didn’t know what was being drawn on him, and had no sense of what the symbol meant at the time.
“The offensive symbol was the result of other intoxicated teens scribbling inappropriate images on one another in an attempt to get laughs and shock reactions,” TMZ reported, with one of Williams’ friends from the time stating that: “the markings do not and have never reflected Hudson’s beliefs, values, or character.”
In light of the Graham Platner Nazi tattoo controversy, the optics aren’t great. But considering how quickly everyone forgave Platner—who, unlike Williams, was an adult when he got the symbol permanently tattooed on his body—it would be pretty hypocritical to hold Williams’ feet to the fire over harm he clearly didn’t intend to cause.
Not to mention the fact that Platner is running for U.S. Senate, where he’ll be in a position to make serious political change. Williams, on the other hand, is an actor whose past history doesn’t pose a direct threat to, well, anyone.
In the comments, people are already passionately standing up for Williams.
“If only we put the same effort into exposing the political and economic leaders who are reducing the world to rubble,” one commenter wrote.
Someone else replied: “I simply could not give less of a sh*t right now,” while another simply said: “yall have never been around high schoolers that draw d*cks & swastikas on everything & it shows.”
Why are fans leaping to Williams’ defense? Simple: because we actually know what’s in his heart.
We’re not about to excoriate Williams for this because we do know he’s grown and changed. It’s in his current actions and words, and the way he’s used his newfound fame to advance causes he cares about and speak out about Asian representation, about treating autistic characters onscreen with care and nuance, and about his historic role in bringing a sex-positive queer story to life.
We know that Williams, along with his co-star Connor Storrie, struggled for years to make it as an actor, and finally landed the big break he dreamed about with Heated Rivalry. Do we know who he was or what he was like in high school? No. But we don’t need to. We know who he is now, and how important he’s been for millions of fans looking up to him as the representation they craved growing up.
We don’t need to know more. We especially don’t need him to apologize about taking an embarrassing photo in high school.
@yvanahbananaw
as always, because this is my page and therefore my platform, i am speaking from my own perspective. i know that sometimes talking about these things can bring more harm than good. but atp, the narrative is already out there, and the conversation has evolved into something much bigger than the usual internet discourse. because of that, i felt it was important to share my thoughts, which i tried (as always) to approach with as much respect and nuance as possible. i am once again saddened by the targeted nature of these attacks. i continue to be frustrated by the lengths some people will go to in order to tear someone down. and i am especially frustrated by the way legitimate concerns and marginalized communities can sometimes be used as props and vehicles for agendas that seem far more interested in punishment than accountability. i believe accountability matters. i also believe context matters—and from what is being said, it seems that even then, this was an attack on him too. but because we do not know all the details, what i can say is that i believe growth matters too. take care of yourselves. and if you stayed for the whole video, thank you for listening. if you’re going to engage respectfully, you’re welcome here. if you’re going to be disrespectful, cruel, or intentionally inflammatory, i will be blocking you. 💛 #hudsonwilliams
♬ original sound – heyitsyvee 🌙
“I think the first thing that needs to be said,” explains TikToker heyitsyvee, “is that the way that this information even surfaced definitely matters….There is a difference between caring about harm and using harm as a weapon.”
Let’s be clear: there are plenty of ways in which the “boys will be boys” tagline is used as a way to help young men avoid accountability, and when that happens, it’s wrong and shameful. But we can also acknowledge that young people do some pretty dumb sh*t, and that’s also a fact of life. It’s not an excuse, but it is context.
From the minute Heated Rivalry took off, certain fans have shown a total disregard for Williams’ right to privacy. This photo feels like an extension of that behavior. Few of us could stand up to the same scrutiny in an age when everything you’ve ever done is part of a digital dossier just waiting to be discovered. Williams’ apology should be enough, and for many fans, it is. But some bad actors are clearly dragging out the drama hoping to make it a full scale cancellation.
For me, it comes down, once again, to the heart, and I say this as a Jewish person very aware of the cultural climate right now. A swastika is not something to be taken lightly. But do the people freaking out about this photo really believe that Hudson Williams is a covert Nazi? Is one high school photo really solid enough evidence to support that belief? Or could it be a case of trying to dig up dirt on someone who’s having a well-deserved moment in the spotlight?
We don’t know everything about who Williams is as a person, but we don’t need to. We know what’s in his heart, and that should be enough.
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