Heated Rivalry: Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie – Photo: Sabrina Lantos/HBO
The Oktyabrsky District Court in Saratov — about 500 miles southeast of Moscow — has fined local news agency SaratovBusinessConsulting (SarBC) 500,000 rubles, or roughly $6,600, for publishing a review of the widely banned HBO gay romance series Heated Rivalry, according to the Russian independent outlet Mediazona.
The charge stems from Russia’s law banning the dissemination of “LGBT propaganda.” While the series is barred from television and streaming services in the country, some viewers have still accessed it through virtual private networks or pirated sites.
Despite the viewing restrictions, the series has attracted a sizable fan following in Russia, with tributes and fan content circulating widely on social media. On Kinopoisk — the Russian equivalent of the Internet Movie Database — it holds a rating of 8.3 out of 10 based on more than 60,000 votes.
The review, posted on SarBC’s entertainment site, examined the series’ popularity. It was published on February 6 and has since been removed, as first reported by the Canadian Broadcast Corporation.
SarBC’s IT director, Andrei Basohkaikin, was also fined 50,000 rubles, or about $660, for violating the law.
A SarBC employee told Mediazona the case was triggered by a “harmless review” of the series, whose name she refused to say publicly.
“There’s a certain TV series that’s being actively discussed right now,” the employee said. “The article came from a link exchange. It was published briefly, but we quickly took it down. It’s a harmless review, the kind of which is all over the internet.
Heated Rivalry centers on a romantic relationship between Russian hockey player Ilya Rozanov and Canadian player Shane Hollander, with Rozanov fearing he could not return to Russia if he came out publicly as gay. The series debuted last November and is slated to return for a second season in April 2027.
Russian fans told CBC News the series resonated with them because of Rozanov’s personal struggles and the country’s anti-LGBTQ attitudes, which have been codified into law.
“When Ilya says he won’t be able to return to his country if he comes out — that’s pure truth,” one fan told the Canadian broadcaster. “Before, well, it was just condemned. Now it’s literally a reason for hatred … they can beat you, they can detain you, they can arrest you.”
Russia has a sweeping ban on “LGBT propaganda,” which includes anything the government deems to promote “nontraditional sexual relations,” gender-nonconformity, or LGBTQ identity. The law, signed by President Vladimir Putin in 2022, broadly prohibits the dissemination of such content.
The law has led to the censorship of books and films, with authorities threatening to suspend or fine platforms that share such content. Russian officials have also prosecuted individuals for displaying LGBTQ symbols, wearing rainbow-colored clothing or accessories, or posting content that portrays LGBTQ people in a positive or even neutral light.
An Ohio bill pushed by Republicans would create a new criminal offense of "unlawful adult cabaret performances," targeting what it deems "obscene" performances in public spaces where minors may be present.
Titled the "Indecent Exposure Modernization Act," the measure defines an "adult cabaret" as venues such as nightclubs, bars, restaurants, or bottle clubs -- regardless of whether they serve alcohol -- that feature performers who "appear in a state of nudity or seminudity," as well as live or recorded content depicting specific anatomical areas or sexual activity.
Former Trump administration staffers testified under oath that federal grants referencing LGBTQ people were flagged for cancellation as part of the administration's efforts to cut government spending.
In a recorded video of his testimony, Nathan Cavanaugh, a political appointee who worked with Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team through the General Services Administration, described how the Trump administration moved to purge diversity-related projects from the National Endowment for the Humanities, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars each year to support historical research, museums, archives, and public humanities programs across the United States.
LGBTQ advocates in Georgia are celebrating a milestone after 15 bills targeting the LGBTQ community introduced during the 2026 legislative session failed to pass before the session ended on April 2.
"This session, we stopped every bill targeting LGBTQ Georgians, even in spite of underhanded political maneuvers," Jeff Graham, executive director of Georgia Equality, said in a statement. "Thousands of Georgians from over 60 counties came together to successfully defeat every last one."
The organization said it mobilized 2,500 Georgia residents to contact their legislators, with 400 traveling to the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta in recent weeks to lobby lawmakers, testify against the measures, and, in some cases, protest efforts to advance policies targeting LGBTQ rights or visibility.
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