Comedian and actress Margaret Cho says she turned down a role in the sports-romance series Heated Rivalry because it filmed in Canada and she feared crossing the border due to her outspoken views on ICE and former President Donald Trump. Cho mentioned the two lead actors, Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, and recounted past encounters with Trump, while also admitting she’s since watched the show and might be interested in season two.

Cho told the I Never Liked You podcast that the timing and location of the project made her nervous about traveling. “Last year, I got a pilot script for a show that I really loved, but it shot in Canada,” she said, and then added, “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.” The concern made her pass on the chance to audition or accept the role.

The series in question, a 2025 sports romance that follows two professional hockey players who fall for one another, stars Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams as rivals-turned-lovers. Cho says she admires the show and the actor who filled the part she missed, and she has even hosted rewatch get-togethers to catch up on what she missed. “I’ve watched it. I’ve hosted some rewatch parties, and I’m like it kills me, like it kills me because of Trump,” she told listeners.

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Her comments reflect a mix of genuine worry and the polarizing nature of public political speech today. From a conservative standpoint, it is worth noting that border agents follow federal guidelines and that dramatic claims about detention risk can sound exaggerated to people who prioritize law and order. Still, the fear among outspoken performers about international travel and reentry shows how politicized everyday decisions have become for public figures.

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Cho’s history of criticizing Donald Trump is not new, and she has used blunt language in the past to make her point. She publicly called him “abhorrent” back in 2015, and she has recounted being invited onto his reality program years ago. The story she tells now mixes a past cordiality on television sets with a present antagonism toward his policies and the immigration agency.

She also shared an anecdote about being linked to Trump’s circle in entertainment. “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,'” she said, and she remembered doing a brief on-set segment for a friend. “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 recounted that her appearance at the diner made her part of an episode without being a contestant. “I was at the diner, and so I was part of an episode, but I never actually was a contestant, but I was asked several times because Donald Trump was a fan,” she said. That personal history is part of why the current standoff between celebrity politics and practical choices gets messy fast.

For conservatives, the episode highlights a few predictable themes: public figures often inflate risk to reinforce their political brand, travel rules remain enforceable regardless of fame, and choices about where to work have real consequences when politics get involved. Still, the entertainment industry will keep drawing performers across borders, and shows like Heated Rivalry will keep spotlighting stories that matter to audiences more than the backstage politics.