Kevin Zegers turns off Instagram comments following ‘Heated Rivalry’ fan backlash over Zionist views

Kevin Zegers has turned off comments on his Instagram account following a wave of backlash from Heated Rivalry fans over his casting in the upcoming second season and his past social media activity concerning Israel and Palestine.

The actor was announced as part of the Season 2 cast on September 4, with Zegers set to play Coach Wiebe in the hit queer hockey drama. His casting was quickly met with criticism from sections of the show’s fandom, with fans questioning the decision because of his support for Zionist views.

Following the casting announcement, fans began flooding Zegers’ social media posts with messages supporting Palestine. Comments on one of Zegers’ posts included repeated calls to “Free Palestine”, while others used the hashtag “#notmycoachwiebe”.

Zegers has turned off and hidden the comments of the posts that were getting the pro-Palestine comments including a post he made for his daughter’s birthday. 

The backlash has been accompanied by a Change.org petition titled “Remove Kevin Zegers from ‘Heated Rivalry’ season 2”. The campaign calls on Crave Canada, creator Jacob Tierney and the show’s producers to remove Zegers from the role and recast Coach Wiebe.

The petition argues that Zegers’ online activity, which it characterises as including Islamophobic rhetoric and support for Israel’s military actions in Gaza, conflicts with the values that fans associate with Heated Rivalry, particularly its LGBTQ+ representation, themes of acceptance and portrayal of marginalised characters.

Fans are also arguing how an actor with these views will work with a cast whose members have voiced support for Palestine since October 2023. 

Zegers has not publicly addressed the latest backlash or announced any change to his involvement in the series. He remains attached to play Coach Wiebe, and there has been no announcement from Crave or the production team that he will be replaced.

Zegers joins returning leads Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, who will reprise their roles as Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov. Season 2 is expected to draw from Rachel Reid’s novels The Long Game and Role Model.

The second season will also feature Milla Jovovich as Dr Galina Molchalina and Paul Gross as Commissioner Roger Crowell. The series is expected to return to HBO Max in spring 2027.

The controversy comes as Heated Rivalry continues to deal with an intensely engaged fandom. Earlier this year, stars including Williams and François Arnaud publicly pushed back against racist, homophobic, misogynistic and other hateful behaviour within parts of the show’s online fanbase.

For now, the casting remains unchanged, while Zegers’ Instagram comments appear to have been restricted following the online campaign.