Comedian Margaret Cho Blames Donald Trump and ICE for Missing Out on 'Heated Rivalry' Role: 'I Was So Scared' 

Comedian Margaret Cho publicly blamed President Donald Trump and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for causing her to turn down a major role in the hit series Heated Rivalry.

Cho revealed that she declined the part because the show was filmed in Canada.

She was deeply afraid that her highly vocal, public criticism of Trump's administration and ICE would make her a target for border harassment or detention when trying to re-enter the United States.

Cho told podcasters Matteo Lane and Nick Smith on their “I Never Liked You” podcast that she was originally considered for the role of Yuna Hollander, the mother of the protagonist hockey star, Shane Hollander (played by Hudson Williams). The role ultimately went to actress Christina Chang.

"Last year, I got a pilot script for a show that I really loved, but it shot in Canada," Cho said. "And I was so scared because I’m so vocal about hating ICE and hating this administration. I was like, I will get detained at the border, and I will be put in ICE detention if I go."

Cho admitted that missing out on the breakout queer sports drama "kills" her. She noted that she is a massive fan of the series and has even hosted watch parties.

"I've watched it. I've hosted some rewatch parties, and I'm like it kills me, as it kills me because of Trump," Cho said.

The comedian has been a vocal critic of the president, whom she called “abhorrent” in 2015.

She recalled being asked to appear on Trump's reality show, Celebrity Apprentice, because he was reportedly "a fan" of her comedy, something she said she found very “weird.”

"I was asked several times to be on it, season after season, and they kept saying, 'Well, Donald Trump really loves you. Please come on," Cho said in March.

"I just had a bad feeling about it, because I did go on one of the challenges because my friend Cyndi Lauper was competing one year, and so she did something at a diner, so I went, and I helped out,” she revealed.

Despite the missed opportunity, Cho confirmed she has contacted the production team. She hopes to secure a new role or a recurring appearance in the show's upcoming second season.

Based on Rachel Reid's popular Game Changers book series, the HBO Max and Crave series is an enemies-to-lovers romance. It follows rival professional hockey players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov.

The show premiered in late 2025 and quickly achieved breakout streaming success, earning an early renewal for a second season.

MAGA figures and conservative pundits have criticized the hit TV adaptation, labeling the show's intense female fan base as having lost their minds and expressing discomfort with the gay romantic sports drama's explicit content.