What began as a press soundbite rapidly become one of many web’s most surprising pop-culture pile-ons. Earlier this month, I Love LA star Jordan Firstman discovered himself on the middle of a viral debate after weighing in on HBO Max’s buzzy hockey romance Heated Rivalry—and followers had ideas.
In an interview with Vulture, Jordan criticized the present’s intimate scenes, saying Heated Rivalry doesn’t mirror how homosexual folks even have intercourse and as an alternative caters to viewers who need to see “two straight hockey gamers pretending to be homosexual.” The feedback sparked instant backlash from followers of the collection, who accused Jordan of policing queer storytelling and lacking the purpose of the present solely.
Two Heated Rivalry stars didn’t keep silent for lengthy. Actor François Arnaud responded immediately, writing, “Is there just one technique to have ‘genuine’ homosexual intercourse on television? Ought to the intercourse that closeted hockey gamers have appear to be the intercourse that sceney LA homosexual guys have?” Hudson Williams reshared François’s remark and cheekily inspired followers to take a look at I Love LA, including gasoline to the discourse moderately than shutting it down.
Virtually immediately, the web determined HBO’s PR group was in disaster mode.
Simply days later, issues took a flip. On December 16, Hudson posted an Instagram Story selfie smoking with Jordan, signaling that no matter pressure existed won’t be as critical as followers thought. François even dropped a 🔥 emoji on a repost of the picture, additional suggesting the “feud” was extra playful than private.
Then got here the crossover second nobody had on their 2024 bingo card. On December 17, HBO Max shared a video that includes Jordan and Hudson alongside I Love LA stars Rachel Sennott and True Whitaker, stunning buyers with a gift-wrapping pop-up at Westfield Century Metropolis in Los Angeles. The clip used Nicki Minaj’s notorious 2015 VMAs audio—“And now, again to this bitch that had a variety of stuff to say about me the opposite day within the press … Miley what’s good?”—leaning totally into the joke.
Nonetheless, not everybody was satisfied the drama was squashed.
Amid the chaos, Heated Rivalry creator Jacob Tierney addressed the bigger dialog in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “We as queer folks have to test our messaging,” he stated. “The issues that we determine ladies can or can’t do could be actually exhausting. Ladies are allowed to jot down about males. They’re allowed to jot down about homosexual males.”
He continued, “The query ought to be, how are they writing about us? Is it with empathy? Is it with allyship? Is it with kindness? Why are we on the lookout for enemies right here as an alternative of on the lookout for allies?”
