Jordan Firstman Walks Back Criticism of 'Heated Rivalry' After Backlash From Fans and Cast

Actor, writer and comedian Jordan Firstman has softened comments he made about queer hockey romance series "Heated Rivalry", following online criticism from fans and from one of the show’s stars.

In an interview with entertainment outlet Vulture , published on 2025-12-11, Firstman discussed his career and recent projects, and used the conversation to criticize "Heated Rivalry"’s portrayal of gay sex, calling the show “just not gay” in the way it depicted intimacy between men.

Firstman reportedly said he watched the first two episodes and felt “it’s not how gay people fuck,” arguing that there are very few screen depictions that show gay sex in ways he considers authentic. He also suggested that a “straight guy could not write” about gay sex, despite "Heated Rivalry" being created by queer filmmaker Jacob Tierney.

"Heated Rivalry" is an LGBTQ+ sports-romance series adapted from author Rachel Reid’s "Game Changers" novels, following the evolving relationship between rival professional ice hockey players Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander. The television adaptation has been led creatively by Canadian writer-director Jacob Tierney and has drawn attention for its focus on a multi-season queer love story in a hyper-masculine sports setting.

The series has also been widely noted for its explicit and emotionally driven sex scenes between men, which many reviewers have framed as a shift away from queerbaiting and toward centering queer intimacy on screen.

Firstman’s remarks prompted a visible response from François Arnaud, who stars in the series and has a long history of playing complex queer and bisexual roles on television.

In a comment posted on Instagram and amplified by entertainment media, Arnaud questioned the idea that there is only one valid way for gay sex to look on screen, particularly for characters who are closeted professional athletes. Arnaud wrote: “Is there only one way to have ‘authentic’ gay sex on TV? Should the sex closeted hockey players have look like the sex scenes LA gay guys have?”

The comment resonated widely with viewers and LGBTQ+ audiences who argued that queer people have diverse experiences of desire, safety, and intimacy, and that representations of queer sex in media can reflect a range of bodies, boundaries and emotional contexts.

Social media users on platforms such as X and Instagram debated the role of personal sexual experience and subcultural identity in evaluating queer television, with many emphasizing that authenticity is not a single standard but a spectrum of lived realities across gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, non-binary and other queer communities.

Following the backlash, Firstman used his Instagram Story to walk back his criticism of Heated Rivalry. On 2025-12-13, he wrote that he “loves Heated Rivalry” and described himself as someone who talks impulsively, adding that he intends to be “better” about how he speaks publicly.

Firstman has built a career as a comedian, writer and online creator whose work often revolves around queer identity and sexual expression, including his role in the explicit indie film "Rotting in the Sun", which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and drew attention for its unsimulated sex scenes and commentary on gay culture.

He has previously faced criticism for resurfaced tweets, including posts from 2012 that made jokes about hiring a Black woman “to fight in my place” and about violence against homeless people, which he later apologized for on Instagram and described as immature attempts at provocation when he was 19.

The dispute over "Heated Rivalry" has become part of a broader, ongoing discussion about who gets to define authentic LGBTQ+ representation in mainstream entertainment. Advocacy organizations have long argued that queer and transgender people should be involved at every level of production, from writers’ rooms to directing and casting, to reflect the diversity of LGBTQ+ lives.

In this case, "Heated Rivalry" is both created and written by a gay showrunner, adapted from queer romance novels, and performed by actors known for engaging with LGBTQ+ storylines, highlighting tensions that can still arise within the community over aesthetics, tone and sexual explicitness.

LGBTQ+ media scholars and advocates emphasize that there is no singular way to depict queer sex or relationships, especially across varied experiences such as closeted athletes, public figures, and community members whose safety may depend on discretion. Many also stress that disagreements within the community are inevitable but can be more constructive when they acknowledge the multiplicity of identities—including gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, transgender, non-binary and intersex people—rather than centering one narrow idea of what “real” queer life looks like.

The conversation sparked by Firstman’s comments and subsequent clarification underscores the continued importance of inclusive, nuanced, and varied LGBTQ+ stories on screen, as well as the need for dialogue that recognizes both creative freedom and community responsibility in shaping how queer lives and bodies are represented.