Margaret Cho Critiques Trump and ICE Over Show Participation

Actress and comedian Margaret Cho has expressed her disappointment regarding President Donald Trump and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for their absence from the HBO Max series “Heated Rivals.”

Cho shared that last year, she received a pilot script for a show she loved, but it was filmed in Canada. She mentioned on her podcast, “I Never Liked You,” that her vocal criticisms of ICE and the Trump administration made her fearful of being detained at the border if she went to Canada.

The series is a romantic sports drama set to air in 2025, following the relationship between two professional hockey players, played by Connor Story and Hudson Williams, who develop feelings while competing against each other.

Cho later admitted to becoming a fan of the show and the actress who took on her character. She hinted at the possibility of making an appearance in the second season, saying, “I’ve watched it. I’ve hosted a few rewatch parties, and I feel like I’m dying because of Trump.”

Cho is among many celebrities who have criticized Trump. She previously labeled him as “abominable” back in 2015.

Earlier this year, she recalled being invited multiple times to appear on Trump’s “The Apprentice.” She found it odd that Trump was supposedly a fan of her comedy. “I kept getting asked to come on, and they said, ‘Donald Trump really loves you, please come,'” she recalled, expressing her unease with the situation, especially after assisting her friend, Cyndi Lauper, during one of the show’s seasons.

Cho noted that her absence from “Heated Rivals” could be linked to Trump and ICE’s policies, remarking, “I was in the episode because I was at the diner, and I wasn’t actually a contestant, but I was invited a few times because Donald Trump was a fan.”