'Off Campus' sends strong message to fans amid cast controversy

As excitement builds for Off Campus season 2, the hit hockey romance series is making one thing clear: keep the drama on the ice.

With cameras officially rolling on the next chapter at fictional Briar University, the show’s team took to social media with an unusual but firm message aimed at fans.

"The Off Campus community is built on a shared love of storytelling—and on respect for the real people who bring it to life," the statement read. "We ask that everyone in this space extend that respect to our cast and the people in their lives."

The warning did not stop there.

"Accounts that engage in targeted harassment will be removed from following our accounts."

The statement arrived just days after season 2 lead Mika Abdalla and her former fiancé Jake Short addressed backlash surrounding a resurfaced podcast clip that sparked heated online debate.

"We've seen a conversation around clips of us together when we were in a relationship," the former couple said in a joint statement. "and people making harmful and inaccurate assumptions about our dynamic."

Abdalla and Short stressed they shared a “loving, respectful relationship” and called it "hurtful to see playful moments dissected in a way that does not reflect the respect and love we had and still have for each other."

Short also publicly apologised for a joke featured in the viral clip.

"I made a disrespectful, juvenile joke in a clip that recirculated this week," he admitted, adding, "It's imperative to me that I take accountability as I am aware that it was inappropriate."

As Off Campus heads into production, the show’s creators seem determined to keep the spotlight where fans want it most – on the romance, the hockey, and the story, not the comment section.