Heated Rivalry breakout actor Hudson Williams is adding his voice to a growing chorus of prominent Hollywood figures demanding criminal accountability for the male students involved in the highly publicized Cornell University sexual assault case.
The group of male students, dubbed in public discussions as “The Cornell Seven,” stand accused of drugging and gang-raping a female classmate at an off-campus fraternity house in October 2024.
Despite severe allegations outlined in a civil lawsuit filed by the victim, local law enforcement did not make any criminal arrests. Instead, the university’s internal disciplinary proceedings resulted in the expulsion of only two students, while others received temporary suspensions, mandatory educational workshops, or essay-writing assignments. The victim ultimately withdrew from the university and has since launched a comprehensive lawsuit targeting her alleged attackers, the fraternity, her former sorority, and Cornell University.
Taking to his official Instagram page, Williams posted a blunt message demanding legal consequences for those involved: “Arrest them. F*** them and f*** Cornell, too!”
Williams joins a rapidly expanding list of high-profile celebrities using their platforms to bring national visibility to the case. Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay released a joint statement alongside her advocacy organization, the Joyful Heart Foundation, expressing outrage over how the victim was handled.
“We refuse for this victim to be reduced to just another story. Cornell has failed to protect its students,” Hargitay wrote.
The Joyful Heart Foundation added: “A Cornell student says she was never told the outcome of her own Title IX case, and the men she accused are back on campus. The Cornell Daily Sun is demanding answers and accountability, and so are we. Survivors deserve to be believed and kept informed. Silence protects no one. To her: we support you.”
Oscar nominee Florence Pugh also released a powerful statement addressing the “horrific act,” writing that she knew “this has happened before, and she hates the idea of it happening again.” The Midsommar actress urged men to take an active role in confronting rape culture, calling on them to be “leading conversations about how we change the allowance and complicity of this behaviour as much as we are” and to “be angry for us.”
Actor Josh Gad similarly voiced his disgust over the university’s administrative response to sexual violence.
“When we start setting a precedent that our girls and women can be brutally raped, and the resulting disciplinary action is to hand out (checks notes) ESSAYS (like it’s Bart Simpson being a lil’ rascal) about why it was wrong to brutally violate an innocent girl, we have lost our f****** minds,” Gad wrote in a statement.
Actress and host Jameela Jamil offered a scathing response of her own, writing: “I think the likes of the Cornell 7 shouldn’t be allowed penises anymore. They used them as weapons, so now they have to be confiscated. I think jail time, legal castration and a removal of the shaft seems like the bare minimum.”
As public outrage mounts, pressure continues to build on both institutional authorities and local prosecutors to re-examine the case.
