Who is Jordan Firstman? All about I Love LA star amid Heated Rivalry comment backlash 

Jordan Firstman is a film and TV writer, director, actor, and producer who also built a following online as a comedian. The English Teacher actor grew up in the suburbs of New York in a Jewish family. Jordan told Short Film Window in 2015,

“I started in the arts pretty young and did theater and was obsessed with it. Then came comedy, then film.”

According to a report by Hey Alma, Jordan Firstman first moved to Los Angeles at the age of 20, where he worked as a photobooth operator at dinner parties and bar mitzvahs. He later said his career took a decisive turn when he landed a writing job on Search Party at 23.

“I was able to stop working those survival-y type jobs when I started writing on ‘Search Party’ when I was 23. I was very ambitious and I really wanted that job.”

Jordan revealed in a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter. He further added,

“I had just done an ayahuasca trip and I saw this version of God and he told me I needed to work really, really hard or he wasn’t going to give me anything.”

Jordan Firstman went on to write, direct, and star in the short film Call Your Father, which explored generational differences among gay men. As noted in the same Hey Alma report, Jordan Firstman is gay. In recent weeks, however, the star made headlines after he criticized gay love scenes in the show Heated Rivalry.

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Jordan Firstman addressed online backlash after his Heated Rivalry remarks:

Jordan Firstman addressed the backlash he faced after criticizing the gay love scenes in the HBO Max show Heated Rivalry, making it clear he was not backing away from his remarks. As reported by US Weekly, Firstman wrote via his Instagram Story on Saturday, December 13,

“I love Heated Rivalry and ultimately I’m a f***** who can’t shut the f*** up, but I’m gonna get better at that.”

He disclosed that his comments had triggered a wave of online trolling after going viral, including messages that turned personal. One message, he said, labeled him

“ugly and fat. Not sure I deserve thousands of these messages but hey I do agree some days,” he further added.

The controversy began earlier in the week when Jordan Firstman was asked in a Vulture profile to compare I Love LA’s “casual” s*x tape storyline with Heated Rivalry, a series starring Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie as ice hockey players who end up in a s*xual relationship off the ice. “Yeah, we’re going for it. It’s gay,” Firstman said in the interview, which was published on Thursday, December 11.

“I’m sorry, I watched those first two episodes of Heated Rivalry and it’s just not gay. It’s not how gay people f***. There’s so few things that actually show gay sex.”

Vulture journalist Jason P. Frank described Firstman’s 2023 film Rotting in the Sun as “the best gay movie of the decade in terms of feeling honest about what gay life is like.” Firstman acknowledged that audiences were still drawn to shows like Heated Rivalry.

“I go to art to be confronted and to think, but a lot of people just want entertainment or to see two straight hockey players pretending to be gay and f***ing,” he said.

The journalist in conversation with Firstman further elucidated that neither of the protagonists on Heated Rivalry had spoken publicly about their sexuality. Jordan Firstman responded,

“Then you know what? I am one of those bitches who says, ‘Then say it.’ A gay guy would say it. I don’t respect you because you care too much about your career and what’s going to happen if people think you’re gay,” he shared.

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Heated Rivalry cast responds after Jordan Firstman’s criticism sparks debate:

According to a report shared by Us Weekly, Jordan Firstman’s criticism of Heated Rivalry prompted responses from two cast members of the HBO Max series. François Arnaud, who played hockey star Scott Hunter on the show, responded directly to a news article about Firstman’s comments. Writing via Instagram on Friday, December 12, Arnaud questioned the notion of a single standard for portraying gay intimacy on screen.

“Is there only one way to have ‘authentic’ gay sex on tv? Should the sex that closeted hockey players have look like the sex that sceney LA gay guys have?” he wrote.

Hudson Williams later reposted his co-star’s message but struck a lighter tone when addressing Firstman’s critique.

“But truly go watch I Love LA! Jordan and the cast are great!!” Hudson Williams added.

Heated Rivalry is based on Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series of novels and was adapted for television by Letterkenny filmmaker Jacob Tierney.

By the end of the week, the conversation had shifted away from a single interview quote and toward the larger questions it raised. Jordan Firstman stood by his perspective, the cast offered their own, and viewers continued to weigh in from both sides.

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