I get the appeal of "Heated Rivalry" and why it’s been plastered all over my social media feeds. The ambiguous sexuality of the two lead twunks, their butter-smooth skin, blade-sharp jawlines and sculpted abs nested neatly in our favorite homoerotic contact sport – hockey, that is – seem predestined for fan-fiction folders of smut-obsessed netizens.

The Canadian ice hockey drama follows the steamy, secret romance between players Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie). Aside from viral clips of titillating sex scenes, the show has reignited an online debate about who gets to be gay in Hollywood, specifically in regard to non-queer actors playing queer roles.

Both lead actors faced pushback online for choosing not to disclose their sexualities. One corner of the internet defends their right to privacy, while others see this as........

© USA TODAY