Margaret Cho Turned Down ‘Heated Rivalry’ “All Because Of Trump” & ICE

As if Heated Rivalry didn’t already have LGBTQ audiences hooked, the show nearly had a bisexual icon attached.

Margaret Cho recently revealed that she turned down a role in Jacob Tierney’s hit Canadian show “all because of Trump” and the looming fear of ICE detainment for travelers attempting to enter or re-enter the United States.

“Last year, I got a pilot script for a show that I really loved, but it shot in Canada, and I was so scared because I’m so vocal about hating ICE and hating this administration,” she explained on the I Never Liked You podcast. “I was like, I will get detained at the border and I will be put in ICE detention if I go.”

Cho recounted, “And I was was struggling over it. I had to talk to all of these people about it. And I was super upset about it, and I said no. And it was Heated Rivalry.”

Noting she’s since “watched” the show and even “hosted some rewatch parties,” Cho said, “The pilot was beautiful, and I was like, I want to do this.”

“It kills me. And it’s all because of Trump,” added Cho.

Cho noted she’s “asked them” about appearing in Season 2. “We’ll see,” she teased.

After Heated Rivalry was renewed for Season 2, creator Tierney told Deadline that it will be based on The Long Game, the only other current book in Rachel Reid’s series that focuses on Ilya and Shane (her next book Unrivaled resumes the story on Sept. 29).