We probably all knew it was only a matter of time. Last December, just as Heated Rivalry was blowing up, and became the present that everyone opened for the holidays in 2025, Hudson Williams did an interview with The Cut about his skincare routine that went viral immediately \u2013 credit to Carol Lee, the writer who pitched this because her idea has resulted in entertainment for all of us and actual money for Hudson. When he showed up in Korea a couple of weeks ago, it all came full circle.<\/p>\n
The first official images from the campaign have now been released. And they include some of the products that he did indeed talk about during that feature in The Cut.<\/p>\n
A post shared by Hudson Williams Updates (@hudsonwupdates)<\/p>\n
A post shared by Hudson Williams Updates (@hudsonwupdates)<\/p>\n
There are, however, some other takeaways beyond the fact that Hudson is getting paid. For starters, it\u2019s beautiful that he\u2019s doing a brand deal for Korean beauty specifically, given his background, as his mother is Korean and she was with him on the trip. It\u2019s not even been a year since Hudson became a star but his experience with fame so far has been inclusive of his culture. No doubt, there is a certain downside to this with the racism that has been directed at him\u2026 but we can also appreciate and celebrate that he was specifically cast in the role of Shane Hollander because of his ethnicity not in spite of it; and this new skincare deal 100% is reflective and connected to his background. This would not have been the case less than a generation ago.<\/p>\n
What is different though, as you can see from these images, is also representative of him too. It is extremely unorthodox for a Korean skincare brand, and any East Asian brand, really, to feature a male spokesperson, whether they\u2019re a model or a model actor\/idol, with facial hair. The male lead in almost every C and K-drama almost never has facial hair and if he does, it\u2019s either because he\u2019s aged or because he\u2019s suffered which\u2026 is a whole other conversation about East Asian beauty standards that we can get into another time. My point is, Hudson has, with these photos, flexed a level of autonomy. You\u2019ll never convince me that if the brand could have made it happen, they would have had him shave. But, clearly, they took him any way they could. And, obviously, he looks fine AF.<\/p>\n
You know what else is really cute? The video of him introducing himself in Korean. Like fully in Korean. Because he says his name in Korean \u2013 not Hudson Williams but\u2026 Hud-uh-son Williams, LOOOLLLL.<\/p>\n
A post shared by Hudson Williams Updates (@hudsonwupdates)<\/p>\n
I love it when my Korean friends switch over to Korean-English when they\u2019re in Korea or speaking with their Korean family members. I do the same in Chinese. Like I\u2019ll add an \u201cah\u201d or a \u201clah\u201d at the end of every sentence. I\u2019ll turn \u201cble\u201d at the end of a word, like \u201ctable\u201d, into \u201ctay-bow\u201d, LOL.<\/p>\n
And in Korean it\u2019s often the extra syllable. BTS puts this into their songs. Like \u201cFake Love\u201d. They don\u2019t pronounce fake as one syllable, it\u2019s two: \u201cI\u2019m so sick of this fake-uh love, fake-uh love, fake-uh love\u201d.<\/p>\n
We're Squawking Hudson today – join us! (App link here.)<\/p>\n
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Celebrity gossip and advanced pop culture, film, and TV analysis<\/p>\n