After Outer Banks shockingly killed off Rudy Pankow‘s character Jackson “JJ” Mayback at the end of the show’s fourth season, his costar Madison Bailey—who stars as Kiara Carrera on the Netflix series—shared a subtle message of support for him, seemingly shutting down recent speculation that the pair were feuding on set.
In a photo shared to her Instagram Nov. 14, Madison held a ukelele while castmate Chase Stokes (who plays John B Routledge) strummed an electric guitar in his character’s on-set bedroom. Nearby, Jonathan Daviss (Pope Heyward) and Rudy laid on the bed, enjoying the relaxing music break and looking up at the ceiling.
Captioning the sweet shot, Madison wrote, “P4L,” nodding to their characters’ friend group The Pogues being bonded for life.
And the 25-year-old wasn’t the only one sending out love after JJ’s death. Rudy also gave a special shoutout to his costars following the release of the season’s finale.
“Being grateful doesn’t begin to explain it,” the 26-year-old wrote on Instagram Nov. 15. “Honestly words in general explaining 5 years of memories, blood, sweat and passion with this special cast, crew, writers, producers, artists aren’t possible.”
“So for now, giving a huge THANK YOU,” he continued. “Thank you to all them and to YOU for the treasure hunt of a lifetime. And lastly to my pal JJ Maybank, thank you I’ll love you forever.”
Rumors of a rift between Madison and Rudy heated up after fans began speculating that the pair used body doubles to film a PDA-filled scene between their characters, who are dating in the show.
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During the finale moment in question, Kiara rested her head on JJ’s shoulder while they sat around the campfire with the rest of the Pogues, including Chase’s John B, Jonathan’s Pope, Madelyn Cline‘s Sarah Cameron and Carlacia Grant‘s Cleo Anderson. However, every time the camera cut to the couple, only one of their faces was visible in the frame—an editing choice that some viewers thought signaled bad blood.
And while Madison and Rudy haven’t publicly addressed the body double theory, Rudy previously spoke out in defense of his girlfriend of three years Elaine Siamek after she received negative comments from online trolls who were disappointed that he’s not dating Madison in real life.
Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix
“In this era of social engagement and enlightenment,” Rudy wrote on Instagram in 2021, “I want to express the importance to spread positivity and needing to know when it is unfair to express your own distaste for something or someone, especially when you can do it behind an anonymous identity.”
And Madison—who has been dating college basketball player Mariah Linney since 2020—has also set some boundaries for fans of Kiara and JJ’s romance, telling Entertainment Tonight in 2020, “Madison and Kiara, and Rudy and JJ, are two different people. Let’s keep the ships on the show. But as far as the show, I’m all for it.”
