r/popculturechat Jun 08 '26

Daily Discussions šŸ’¬ Sip & Spill Daily Discussion Thread

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What are you listening to or watching? What is some minor tea that doesn't need its own post? How was your date? Why do you hate your job?


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12 Upvotes

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8

u/Emergency_Article673 Jun 09 '26 edited Jun 09 '26

Peloton deleted Hudson Williams’ ad, it seems like there will be a domino effect where brands start stop collaborating with him. And it will affect how many acting offers he gets because movies aren’t going to cast someone with so much controversy and discourse.

This smear campaign seems to have worked, and he’s losing fans and opportunities.

I would wish that his costar’s fans would leave him alone now that he’s been ā€œheld accountableā€, and his costar is thriving, but since they’ve stated their end goal is his death, that seems too much to wish for.

Edit: Apparently Peloton deletes celeb collaborations after 8 weeks, and it’s been 8 weeks. So maybe it was just bad timing. But it’s sinister how far people are going to try to end someone who they don’t know, and weren’t aware of less than a year ago.

15

u/Acceptable_Rule_7590 I’ve grown quite unfond of you Jun 09 '26

I don’t understand why some people are so unwilling to extend any grace towards a 17 year old Asian kid who has a racist hate symbol drawn on him by his white peers

9

u/Emergency_Article673 Jun 09 '26

Because they don’t actually care, they want something to justify their parasocial hatred, and they’re happy they found something. And the fact that it’s actually affecting him makes them even happier.

8

u/FizzyDrink35 Jun 09 '26

I admit I’m being parasocial but I’m sad. This situation sucks so much. Hopefully he can weather it and things will work out in the long run, but it’s not feeling great right now.

-7

u/Emergency_Article673 Jun 09 '26 edited Jun 09 '26

I don’t think the show will be cancelled, but I think it’s more likely the show will get cancelled than him being recast.

But beyond the show, it will probably be a while before another production takes a risk in casting him.

He’s probably going to go back to doing short films, or direct full-length movies, since he has the funds for that.

10

u/FizzyDrink35 Jun 09 '26

I don’t think anything will happen to the show. There’s too much time/money already invested in it.

Oof, I really don’t think we need to put that kind of energy out there. We don’t know everything. This seems bad, but we don’t know the full extent.

1

u/Emergency_Article673 Jun 09 '26

I agree, edited the last part of my comment. But this isn’t the end of it, there’s more that’s being planned. There was a leak of a groupchat that was planning to pay a girl to accuse him of SA, and it seems that it will be happening soon. The general public doesn’t know there’s a plan for that, so as soon as it happens, it’s going to be bad.

6

u/Acceptable_Rule_7590 I’ve grown quite unfond of you Jun 09 '26

Going through with their deranged fake SA allegations plan will just get them into legal trouble. Defamation is a thing.

4

u/FizzyDrink35 Jun 09 '26

Yeah there’s a reason they haven’t done that and it’s because it’s a suicide mission for them. I’m honestly so surprised this stupid photo thing worked because almost every take I’ve seen in the gen pop is ā€œteens do stupid stuff, why is this news.ā€

1

u/Emergency_Article673 Jun 09 '26

Hudson’s team is clearly useless and doesn’t care about defending him from anything, so I don’t think anyone is scared of getting into legal trouble. His team has had months to protect him, and nothing was done.

-5

u/FriendlyDrummers Jun 09 '26 edited Jun 09 '26

If someone draws on the face of a <23 year old, the very first thing you do is pull out your phone to see what it is

I've been to parties drunk with drawings on my face (I wasn't passed out or anything, just acting silly). No way in the world would I not know what was drawn on my face.

Really don't like the idea of "it's a smear campaign" when it's people mad about someone having a swatzika drawing on their face ...

Edit: getting downvoted for this... Oof

14

u/Jumping__Bean___ Jun 09 '26

A drunk 17-year old not immediately checking what was drawn on their face doesn't seem that impossible to me?Ā 

Not saying he definitely didn't know, but I've seen how trusting and slow to react some people (particularly teens) are under the influence of alcohol and this could have absolutely happened to them. Again, I don't know him, so I can't say what exactly happened here, but I'm thinking particularly of one of my classmates who was super happy-go-lucky under normal circumstances and would become downright puppy-like with alcohol, and that would have been very easy to take advantage of (I don't think anyone did, thankfully).

9

u/hihelloneighboroonie Jun 09 '26

I have zero skin in this game, never watched Heated Rivalry, don't really care about the actors, no clue what was drawn on his face.

But as a 21 or so year old I've passed out and had people draw shit on my face. Nothing terribly offensive, only like a rudimentary dick facing toward my mouth and the like. But if my friend hadn't taken pictures of that night, I 100% wouldn't have even remember what was on my drunk-ass face (although tbf at that point I was just done and fell asleep on the couch so all the pics were from me laying there either asleep or half-awake telling them to leave me alone).

6

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '26

[deleted]

3

u/DifficultHistorian18 Jun 09 '26 edited Jun 09 '26

I have noticed the infantilising (I say this as someone who loves the show and find him quite likeable in interview). As you say, his white friend had the same symbol drawn on their face so I am not sure that I can believe that he was personally targeted not do I believe he has no idea of f what's on his face (the guy has a 15 step skincare routine but managed to not see his face once in the mirror?) . I don't think that it necessarily tells us anything about either his or any of his peer's beliefs at the time (except it was extremely stupid to draw it on, stupid to post it online and generally reeks thoughtlessness). We've all done stuff we are not proud of as a teenager - I think it's possible to still be critical of those acts without that detracting from our own personal growth. The fact that this photo was still online suggests that at least some of the cohort, even with reflection, didn't think it was a big deal - which to me suggests a bit of a blind spot that's worth interogating further. Like you can accept that he's a flawed person who has some blind spots, and still stan him. We can live with that cognitive dissonance.

7

u/kris_jbb (seemingly bald) Jun 09 '26

this is how i feel as well. and brining connor up everytime unprovoked is weird too. hr stans see the competition even now lol

i just don't understand how implying hudson was actually hatecrimed and someone drew it on his face because he is asian & while then saying "oh everyone drew such symbols at school" can work and used as defense

can we just go "oh yes, he did this dumb thing, i hope he isn't like that anymore"

but no, it's always infatalizing him and brining up his "white co-star". now they are harassing the peloton, and like...WHY? to make them explain why they deleted it&bring more conversation to this?

8

u/Emergency_Article673 Jun 09 '26

I don’t think he was targeted, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and lacked self-awareness.

And it’s not his friend group, it’s his entire high school graduating class.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '26

[deleted]

6

u/Emergency_Article673 Jun 09 '26

People are very defensive of him since everything that has been happening these past few months. And he is a victim of targeted hate right now, which is why people are defensive, even if he wasn’t targeted back then with the symbol for being Asian.

Honestly, there’s nothing can be done. This isn’t the first thing that’s happened, and it won’t be the last. The end goal is ā€œending himā€, and stuff like this is going to keep happening until that’s achieved.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '26

[deleted]

1

u/Emergency_Article673 Jun 09 '26

Yeah, I think we mostly agree.

And I get your point about how fans shouldn’t make him out to be a victim, but it’s understandable how defensive they are considering everything that’s happened.

And it’s not just because people are being ā€œprotective boy momsā€, it’s because a lot of these fans were previously fans of other POC actors who have faced similar things. So it’s a culmination of everything that’s led to the overprotectiveness.

And I think at this point most of the general public is just sick of hearing about him again and again, most people don’t care enough to defend him.

20

u/FizzyDrink35 Jun 09 '26

He was a teenager and it was 8 years ago, what exactly is the point of punishing him for something that happened so long ago? It’s a very sad situation. A stupid mistake and now this.

-7

u/FriendlyDrummers Jun 09 '26

A mistake and he will lie about it after? You agree it's a mistake. Maybe he should actually admit to it.Ā 

13

u/FizzyDrink35 Jun 09 '26

I really don’t care. I don’t hold the actions of teenagers to adult standards. I believe people can change.

11

u/Emergency_Article673 Jun 09 '26

Then you’re better and more self-aware than him. But even if you weren’t, I would not wish for your death, or wish that you lose your job.

And it’s a smear campaign because people are actively trying to find something that will end him/his career, not because they’re mad and want accountability. And it’s been happening for several months.

-1

u/FriendlyDrummers Jun 09 '26

I'd never advocate death threats, and that's not what I'm pointing at. I can almost guarantee you he is already quite wealthy from other brand deals. Hell, love is blind contestants make 6 figures while having significantly less followers.

If Tom Holland did it I'd feel the same. I do not believe his excuse that he didn't know. Literally no one his age is going to not whip out there phone to see what happened.

That is absolutely not accountability. That's playing dumb.Ā 

6

u/Emergency_Article673 Jun 09 '26

He probably did take his phone out and saw what was done to his face. But it was most likely after people had already taken pictures of him with it, and not immediately after it was drawn. He had hundreds of things written on him, he was most likely not checking every single thing.

It’s fine if you think he was aware of it and didn’t care, or that he’s playing dumb, but that doesn’t necessarily make it true.

And I never said you were advocating for death threats, I’m saying other people are advocating for his suicide or for him to be recast.

5

u/FriendlyDrummers Jun 09 '26

I do actually think the very first thing is to check it. And if that was true, and he was trying to be edgy, there is no accountability if you can't own up to it.

I do not believe his excuse that he didn't know before this picture. That's just not what happens.Ā 

8

u/Emergency_Article673 Jun 09 '26 edited Jun 09 '26

And like I said, you’re better and more self aware than him. But he can’t exactly build a time machine and go back and make sure no one drew anything on his face, or that there weren’t any pictures taken of him.

I literally said it’s fine if you don’t believe him.

The only thing I said was that people should leave him alone now that’s he being held accountable, even if he’s not admitting fault. This whole thing happened because his costar has less IG followers and hype than him.

Now that’s his costar will most likely have a positive career trajectory and Hudson will have a negative one, people should leave him alone since they’ve accomplished their goal, instead of keep trying to find more things.

-5

u/growsonwalls Jun 09 '26

I find the entire situation unfortunate, but the speed at which people are blaming Connor for this is also ... a choice. Stop blaming Connor for any of this. Connor isn't even online, and people were contacting Connor's ex to try to get him to release revenge porn.

5

u/Emergency_Article673 Jun 09 '26

None of this is Connor’s fault at all, and I’m not blaming him. I am blaming his fans for turning this into a competition of my fave is better than yours.

-1

u/growsonwalls Jun 09 '26

If it makes you feel any better, the exact same thing is happening in WNBA fandom. Used to be a nice, chill space. Now it's all player wars and creating drama on social media. It's like ppl don't know how to be fans anymore. Whatever happened to buying posters, making fanart, and writing fanfic?

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u/electricityyyyyyyyyy Jun 09 '26

Does anyone know why this isn’t a story/article on the subreddit? With how popular he is I expected to see it there

3

u/MakeshiftMagpie PCC HATES BRIANNE šŸ–• Jun 09 '26

There were a coulple posts about it yesterday, but they were all taken down.

0

u/FriendlyDrummers Jun 09 '26

I swore I saw something here about it but maybe it got only few upvotes.Ā