Looks Like Hudson Williams Forgives Jordan Firstman

Unless they’re adhering to a “keep your friends close but your enemies closer” philosophy, these HBO boys aren’t beefing. In a rare promising development for Canada-U.S. relations, Heated Rivalry star Hudson Williams posted a selfie smoking with I Love LA star Jordan Firstman on his Instagram Story late in the evening on December 16. He added a red heart emoji and tagged Firstman, who, as of publication, appears to have deactivated his account but reportedly reposted the picture before doing so. The meetup comes after Firstman previously told Vulture that Heated Rivalry does not accurately depict the way gay people have sex. In the same interview, he referred to the Canadian Crave series — which airs in the U.S. on HBO Max, also home to I Love LA — as “two straight hockey players pretending to be gay and fucking” and suggested that Williams and co-star Connor Storrie should come out if they are gay. Firstman ultimately walked back his comments by affirming his “love” for Heated Rivalry in a December 13 Instagram Story that noted, “I’m a f - - - - - who can’t shut the fuck up but I’m gunna get better at that.”

To really bring this moment full circle, Heated Rivalry’s resident blueberry-banana smoothie connoisseur, François Arnaud, commented an approving fire emoji on Just Jared’s Instagram repost of the Williams-Firstman selfie. Previously, Arnaud had responded to Firstman’s critique of the show by asking in Just Jared’s Instagram comments, “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?” Williams shared his co-star’s questions on Instagram Stories, though he still diplomatically added, “But truly go watch ‘I Love LA’! Jordan and the cast are great!” Add this recent smoke sesh to the mix, and it seems clear that Williams is a take-the-high-road kind of guy. Maybe he’s just trying to do his country proud — while discussing his experience on the Heated Rivalry press tour with the The Hollywood Reporter, the actor recently reflected, “I try to say, whatever mood I’m in, just be Canadian, don’t be mean.” Sweet, eh?