‘That is a lie’: Podcast bros bite back after their ‘spineless’ texts about Heated Rivalry leak

Last week, a report exposed some disappointing texts from the hosts of the Empty Netters podcast after they’d talked about Heated Rivalry like it was the best thing since sliced bread.

Though they aren’t exactly the target audience for Heated Rivalry, former hockey players Dan and Chris Powers LOVED the filthy, filthy show. They reacted to each and every episode, and their videos went totally viral with the likes of Rolling Stone and Vulture writing celebratory pieces about their openness.

Sadly, OutSport then published an exposé with some of Dan’s private texts. He called the show’s creator a “loser” whilst suggesting that the only reason Heated Rivalry did well was that it “panders, it’s provocative, and it checks inclusivity boxes.” He told his friend that it would make “blue haired twitter happy”, claiming he would not be watching “out of principle.”

The comments were a far cry from what they’d publicly put out, so people were super disappointed. The final nail in the coffin was the overpriced Heated Rivalry merch they were selling on their website.

The Empty Netters hosts confirmed the texts, but not the timeline

Shortly after the initial article broke, the Empty Netters hosts posted a clapback video about the Heated Rivalry drama. Though they confirmed the validity of the text messages, they rejected the timeline and added further context to their words.

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Dan said: “Wanted to take a second to acknowledge the OutSport piece that came out today. 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. I want to say that this has caught me completely off guard and frankly, is super disappointing. I just wanted to take a beat to understand everything before addressing you all.

“First of all, the timeline implied in this article is completely false and inaccurate. 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. These messages were sent over a week before we had ever watched the show and before we had ever posted a review.”

Dan also shared screenshots of the infamous text messages, which were exchanged with another podcaster he’s now “dissapointed” in. You see, he was largely annoyed that it wasn’t a show about hockey; it was a smutty TV show with a hockey setting.

“I want to hit on the fact that in those messages, 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,” he explained.

He said they were always authentic in their reviews

Though clips of the Empty Netters lads reacting to Heated Rivalry have gone mega viral, they’re just the best bits. If you watch the full episodes, they weren’t even that keen on the show to begin with, Dan said.

“If you watch the first episode of our reviews, we don’t even love it yet. People are asking us to be authentic. Go back and watch episode one. We are authentic. We literally have an award where we’re giving out moments to the ‘craziest, ridiculous what the hell is happening here’ moment,” he argued.

Empty Netters hitting people with everything we wanted #heatedrivarly @EmptyNettersPod pic.twitter.com/ZyWPFGlbDu

— TheCarterFilez (@TheCarterFilez) January 23, 2026

“We weren’t totally sold yet. We were honest with you and authentic. Then we kept watching, and as you all see, and all grew with us and loved with us, we were like, ‘Holy sh*t, this isn’t a hockey show, It’s also not just a romance smut show. This show is incredible.’ We grew to love it and expressed that honestly and clearly every single new episode review.”

He also rejected the idea that OutSport reached out to him for comment, stating, “That is a lie.” The writer had reached out to him through social media a number of times, but Dan said that it wasn’t through the “proper channels.”

He’s heartbroken

recent empty netters stuff is sooooo funny like how are you nowjust realising they are straight white men and have always been pic.twitter.com/5j3uzTKds4

— nemra ₄₄ ₈₁ (@vanilyachai) January 23, 2026

Rounding off the 17-minute video, Dan shared his disappointment, not only with the original article and the person who leaked the messages, but also with the backlash.

He explained: “I think it’s a shame because 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 or what we experienced together.

“And the amazing interactions that we’ve had on the road and the people in our messages and our comments, who we genuinely have loved so much and spent our holiday season talking with and sharing these great moments,

“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.”

For once, the internet is fairly split on this drama. Some think that the Empty Netters lads came equipped with damning receipts, but others have said that the timeline doesn’t matter. He still said it.

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Featured image credit: HBO/Empty Netters