After Jordan Firstman criticized the hit hockey romance, saying it offered few moments “that actually show gay sex,” Hudson Williams and François Arnaud had very different reactions.

Heated Rivalry actors respond to *I Love LA *star dissing show’s sex scenes: ‘It’s not how gay people f---’

After Jordan Firstman criticized the hit hockey romance, saying it offered few moments "that actually show gay sex," Hudson Williams and François Arnaud had very different reactions.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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December 13, 2025 7:04 p.m. ET

Jordan Firstman on 'I Love LA'; Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie on 'Heated Rivalry'. Credit:

Kenny Laubbacher/HBO;Sabrina Lantos

- *I Love LA* star Jordan Firstman criticized the gay sex scenes in *Heated Rivalry*, saying, "It's not how gay people f---."

- *Heated Rivalry* actors François Arnaud and Hudson Williams both responded to the criticism on Instagram.

- Firstman later admitted, "I love 'Heated Rivalry.'"

The stars of *Heated Rivalry* are speaking out after criticism of the show's gay sex scenes.

Actor and comedian Jordan Firstman, who stars on Rachel Sennott's new series, *I Love LA*, called out the hockey romance's depiction of intimacy in an interview with *Vulture* on Thursday, saying, "It's just not gay."

After he saw a Just Jared post about Firstman dissing the show, François Arnaud, who portrays New York Admirals captain Scott Hunter on *Heated Rivalry*, responded in its comments.

"Is there only one way to have 'authentic' gay sex on TV?" Arnaud, who is bisexual, wrote. "Should the sex that closeted hockey players have look like the sex that sceney L.A. gay guys have?🤔"

Jordan Firstman on 'The Kelly Clarkson Show'.

Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal via Getty

Hudson Williams, who plays closeted Montreal Metros captain Shane Hollander on *Heated Rivalry*, shared Arnaud's comment to his Instagram Stories, but also added words of support for Firstman's show. "But truly go watch 'I Love LA'!" he said. "Jordan and the cast are great!"

On Saturday morning, Firstman followed up his interview remarks with his own Instagram Story, admitting that he put his foot in his mouth and sharing more feelings about *Heated Rivalry*.

"I love 'Heated Rivalry' and ultimately I'm a f----t who can't shut the f--- up, but I'm gunna get better at that," he wrote.

His new comments were a change of tune from the comedian, who derided *Heated Rivalry*'s gay sex scenes while comparing them to his own in *I Love LA*.

"We're going for it. It's gay," he said of his show. "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."

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Later in the interview, Firstman brought the show up again. "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."

'Heated Rivalry' actors Hudson Williams and François Arnaud.

Gary Gershoff/Getty;Amy Sussman/Getty

When *Vulture*'s reporter noted that Williams and his costar Connor Storrie, who plays his lover and hockey competitor, Ilya Rozanov, have not publicly discussed their sexual orientations, Firstman argued that they should.

"Then you know what? I am one of those bitches who says, 'Then say it,'" he replied. "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."

Williams and Storrie recently reflected on shooting their sex scenes in a joint interview with **.

"It's a really interesting experience watching something that is so overtly sexual and has a certain amount of nudity and sex 'cause we did that on set," Storrie said. "When I watch it, I'm like, 'This is really not that raunchy because it's me.' So there's not this element of separation … It's like, I remember doing that, but it's hard to remind yourself that anyone else who's seeing this was not there and did not watch this happen."

Williams added, "The fans get spontaneity, but we see mechanics. We see technique, rehearsal. We see Chala [Hunter, their intimacy coordinator] going, 'Knee little higher! Knee little lower! Hide your, like, little ballet slipper.'"

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In a separate interview with EW, Arnaud addressed shooting his own sex scenes. "We shot a lot, like two days of sex scenes," he said. "We knew we wanted it to be sweet, sometimes clumsy, joyful, and easy, and not for an audience. Just for them to have that moment."

*I Love LA* airs Sundays on HBO at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT. *Heated Rivalry* drops new episodes Fridays on HBO Max.

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW LGBTQ”