Jimmy Fallon took a swipe at former Vice President Mike Pence’s notorious stance on LGBTQ+ rights on Friday, mocking the conservative politician for getting hot and bothered by HBO Max’s gay romance drama “Heated Rivalry.”
For good measure, the late night host reenacted the former Indiana governor swooning over the series’ muscled hockey players Shane Hollander (played by Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (played by Connor Storrie) while calling out to his wife, Karen, whom he reportedly refers to as “mother.”
“WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark is here tonight,” Fallon said in his week-capping “Tonight Show” monologue, quipping “Caitlin plays for the Indiana Fever, which sounds like something Mike Pence gets whenever he watches ‘Heated Rivalry.’”
Fallon then put his “Saturday Night Live” chops to work and caricatured the former Indiana governor as a loose-limbed swooner, fanning himself and calling out to his wife.
“‘Mother, mother! They’re off the ice again mother!’” Fallon said, to laughs from the studio audience. He paused and picked it back up:
“‘They’re in the same bed together, Mother! They’re in the same bed!’”
Based on Rachel Reid’s bestselling book series, “Heated Rivalry” follows Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanoy, two superstar professional hockey players whose fierce rivalry on the ice masks a growing relationship. What begins as a secret fling between the two rookies develops over eight years into a complicated romance with steamy sex scenes to match. Season 2 is currently in the works; it was a major hit for Canada’s Crave and HBO Max — but seems unlikely Pence tuned in.
Pence has a long record of opposing LGBTQ+ rights, including opposing same-sex marriage, voting against federal workplace protections for gay and lesbian employees and opposing the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
The Human Rights Campaign went so far as to denounce Pence’s 2024 presidential bid, arguing, “Mike Pence has spent decades targeting the dignity and existence of LGBTQ+ people as his candidacy threatens hard-won equality and poses a risk to the rights of women, people of color and a more equitable, democratic America.”
