François Arnaud is responding to the online harassment he’s endured amid rumors he’s dating his “Heated Rivalry” co-star Connor Storrie.
“In general, fans have been incredibly positive and respectful,” the actor, 40, told the Toronto Star in an interview published Saturday.
“For the ones that aren’t, I think it’s a lot of younger fans who don’t really understand the difference between reality and fiction,” he said of the harassment, which is said to have included death threats.
“I honestly wish they would just rewatch the show, because it doesn’t seem like they got its message,” he added. “Pay attention more closely. Did we watch the same show?”
Arnaud, who plays Scott Hunter in the hit Crave/HBO Max series, encountered the harassment after being snapped jetting out of JFK airport with Storrie, 25, on Wednesday following their press week in the Big Apple.
The appearance sparked dating rumors between the pair, and some fans think Storrie should instead be involved with Hudson Williams, 24 — Storrie and Williams play onscreen rivals and secret lovers Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander, respectively, in the show.
“They need to leave this gentle king alone,” one person on X remarked as the online drama escalated.
Meanwhile, Arnaud unfollowed “Heated Rivalry” cast and crew members, including co-stars Williams, Robbie G.K. and Storrie — and series creator Jacob Tierney — in a social media purge over the past week.
Per Just Jared, he trimmed his “following” list from over 1,000 to 213 — but then added them back, Page Six confirmed on Friday, along with a composite photo of himself and Williams flipping the middle finger.
Arnaud addressed the mass unfollowing in his interview with the news outlet, as well.
“What’s happening is that I’m unfollowing everyone, and Instagram won’t let me do that all at once,” he told the Toronto Star.
“You can only unfollow a certain amount of people over 24 hours, which I did not know at the time,” he added.
Arnaud also claimed his middle finger selfie had little to do with the online harassment he’s experienced.
“It’s completely unrelated to that,” he said.
“I mean, ‘completely’ maybe would be a lie, but mostly unrelated to that. I’ve done these ‘spot the differences’ posts for a long time, and I just thought it was nice to do something with Hudson, and that’s it.”
The Los Angeles-based actor confessed that the harassment has him considering moving.
“I’m like, ‘Oh, maybe a little bungalow with street access, not on a gated property, is not the best thing,’” he said “So yeah, I’m moving into a building with a doorman.”
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