'Empty Netters' Podcast Host Breaks Silence on 'Heated Rivalry' Leaked Texts Where He Called the Show 'Trash'

Dan Powers is addressing all of the backlash after his texts slamming Heated Rivalry were leaked.

Dan and brother Chris Powers are both straight, former hockey players that co-host the Empty Netters hockey podcast and have often raved over the show and even had star Robbie G.K. on their podcast.

However, Outsports recently reported that in a series of leaked text messages, Dan called Heated Rivalry “trash.”

Keep reading to find out more…“I think these losers who made this show are cowards,” Dan wrote in one text and in a another, he wrote, “This is the trash they make because it panders, it’s provocative, and it checks inclusivity boxes.”

After facing a lot of backlash from fans online, Dan posted a video on Thursday (January 22) where he addressed the situation.

“I know that a ton of people are shocked by this, confused by this, and frustrated by this, and I take that very, very seriously,” Dan said. “And I want to say that this has caught me completely off guard and, frankly, is super-disappointing.”

He confirmed that the texts are real, but noted that he sent them before he had actually seen the majority of the show.

“The timeline implied in this article is completely false and inaccurate and it suggests that we were watching this show, sending messages like this, while at the same time reviewing it and speaking poorly about it, which is completely inaccurate,” Dan said. “These messages were sent over a week before we had ever watched the show and before we had ever posted a review.”

He went on to share screenshots of the texts that he sent with someone he “considered a good friend,” noting that it was “crushing that this person would try to execute an attack” on his podcast.

“So here’s my lame reasoning,” Dan read from one of his texts. “As a writer/And someone who works in the entertainment industry/This show ENRAGES me.”

“I think these losers who made this show are cowards,” he continued. “They’re Canadian for crying out loud – and in a space that has hockey fans DYING for a good, quality, well written, and AUTHENTIC hockey show…this is the trash they make because it panders, it’s provocative, and it checks inclusivity boxes.”

Dan insisted that the texts were taken out of context in the original report.

“I prefaced all of them by saying ‘My lame writer take’ — implying and telling my friend, ‘This is my jealous hyperbolic ridiculous take’ because anyone who knows me, or anyone who watches this podcast, knows that I use absurd hyperbolic language to drive home a point,” Dan explained. “It doesn’t mean I mean those things.”

He went on to say that his own experience of trying to write a hockey series drove his initial criticism of Heated Rivalry, of which he said he only saw 10 minutes of at the time he sent the texts.

“I was using that language because as a writer in Hollywood who has tried and failed to make a hockey show, an authentic hockey drama, I then said privately that just another hockey smut romance show was being made instead of being authentic,” Dan said. “That was me being uninformed. I hadn’t watched the show yet.”

Dan noted that the his text controversy has saddened him because it casts doubt on Empty Netters‘ enthusiasm and praise for Heated Rivalry.

“Now the people that we enjoyed this wonderful situation and this wonderful moment with are made to feel like they can’t trust what they saw,” he said. “You’ve now potentially made these people feel like they can’t trust the authenticity and the lovely nature of those moments, and that breaks my heart.”

He reiterated that he genuinely loves Heated Rivalry and has a lot of admiration for the show’s creators.

“What I was saying was not directed at the amazing people who made this show. It was totally taken out of context,” Dan concluded. “For the people who are upset or angry still, or confused, I totally understand, but I’d like to just say, give us a chance. Give me a chance.”

If you didn’t see, Heated Rivalry star François Arnaud responded to all the harassment he’s been facing online.