Canadian says his TV pitch portrayed as Hunger Games for U.S. migrants was misrepresented

The Canadian Press

· Posted: May 23, 2025 7:33 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

When Rob Worsoff precocious dusted disconnected an aged thought helium had for a world tv amusement astir radical connected the way to United States citizenship, helium had nary thought of what helium was letting himself successful for.

The Canadian-born freelance tv shaper said helium brought his transportation to physique a amusement astir aspiring immigrants learning astir the civilization of their caller state to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security nether some the Obama and Biden administrations. He adjacent brought a mentation of it to the CBC.

Worsoff past enactment his thought guardant to the caller Trump medication — but this clip the 49-year-old got caught up successful a planetary media and governmental backlash.

"The tone of my transportation was wholly misrepresented and it's been utilized arsenic a governmental football," the Los Angeles-based  shaper said.

Worsoff said his connection for a amusement to beryllium called The American was leaked to the Daily Mail. The British tabloid reported past week that U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem was considering approving the task — and described the projected programme arsenic pitting immigrants against each other.

Other U.S. quality organizations started reporting connected it too, calling it the Hunger Games for migrants.

Noem told a Senate proceeding this week that "there are nary plans whatsoever to bash a world show."

Immigration has agelong been governmental successful the United States but it became a flashpoint contented for voters up of the predetermination past year. U.S. President Donald Trump promised to bring successful sweeping reforms, unopen down borders and motorboat wide deportations.

His medication has taken immoderate highly arguable steps to fulfil those predetermination promises.

There person been deportations to overseas prisons, including successful El Salvador. The medication has cancelled pupil visas and sent foreign-born students to migration detention centres aft accusing them, without presenting evidence, of supporting Hamas and spreading antisemitism.

The Supreme Court heard a lawsuit connected birthright citizenship aft Trump signed an enforcement bid attempting to abolish it successful immoderate cases.

Worsoff said helium ne'er saw his transportation arsenic political, arsenic either "blue oregon red." It developed from his ain acquisition arsenic a Canadian going done the U.S. immigration system, helium said.

Worsoff grew up successful Montreal a monolithic instrumentality of TV, movies and comic books. He said he'd hoped to go a sports broadcaster and went to schoolhouse successful Syracuse, N.Y., to travel that dream.

On his mode to his archetypal authoritative occupation arsenic a play sports anchor for a section quality presumption successful Northern California, helium deed a fateful fork successful the road. He got a telephone from radical who worked connected the Howard Stern Show offering him a occupation arsenic a accumulation adjunct successful Los Angeles.

"I was virtually successful Utah," Worsoff said. "I was similar going, 'Well, if I spell right, I'm going to the redwoods and if I enactment straight, I'm going to LA."

Worsoff kept driving straight.

It was the commencement of the world tv roar and Worsoff worked connected immoderate of the astir fashionable shows, pitching others on the way. Breaking Bonaduce led to The Biggest Loser, which led to Millionaire Matchmaker. Eventually, helium helped to make the megahit Duck Dynasty.

"Thirty-five of the shows I've done you've ne'er heard of. I worked connected truthful galore pilots," helium said.

Worsoff said that sometime astir 2005, erstwhile helium was connected his ain travel toward United States citizenship, helium began tinkering with the thought of a amusement that would amended radical astir the process portion showcasing what America has to offer.

Essentially, his transportation was to nonstop highly vetted radical already connected the way to citizenship to question the state and acquisition its practice and culture. There'd beryllium things similar a pizza situation successful New York, a pony explicit situation successful Oregon, a murphy situation successful Idaho.

At the time, Worsoff was moving with Canadian histrion Jonathan Torrens connected a short-lived world amusement called Popularity Contest based successful Texas. Torrens is well-known successful Canada for co-hosting Street Cents and for his appearances connected Degrassi: The Next Generation and arsenic J-Roc connected Trailer Park Boys.

Torrens said helium rapidly bonded with Worsoff and they became friends. Not agelong after, Worsoff shared his thought of a world amusement astir citizenship and Torrens suggested they see a Canadian mentation to bring to the CBC.

"The thought was not dissimilar to the 1 helium is trotting retired now," Torrens said. "It was seeing the state we sometimes instrumentality for granted done the lens of radical who would emotion to person what we sometimes instrumentality for granted — which is Canadian citizenship."

They talked a batch astir the prize, Torrens said. A fast-track to citizenship would acceptable with the show's extremity of celebrating the state without having anyone really suffer anything, Worsoff said — nobody would beryllium deported oregon suffer their spot successful enactment for immigration.

Torrens and Worsoff had a gathering with CBC successful 2006 but yet the amusement wasn't picked up.

Has 'the astir good-intentioned, heartfelt motivations'

Torrens said helium hadn't thought overmuch astir the transportation until it erupted successful the U.S. news media past week. Torrens said Worsoff ever had "his bosom successful the close place."

Since the transportation was leaked, Worsoff has faced a tsunami of backlash and hate-filled messages online.

He said helium has "the astir good-intentioned, heartfelt motivations."

Worsoff inactive stands down the thought and said helium is "twice arsenic hell-bent" connected getting the amusement made.

He said his thought was ever to marque the benignant of tv helium likes to ticker — shows with bully characters and stories filled with "the hopes and dreams, the laughter and the tears and the heart."

"I person ne'er believed much successful my show, successful my intentions, successful moving with the authorities and with moving with the industry."