by lisa lipsey
The RAGE Monthly constantly challenges me to conquer my fears. I get nervous before interviews, worried I will get star-struck and tongue-tied, or ask a dumb question. I am sure I have. Since The RAGE Monthly’s inception, and hundreds of interviews later, I can say there are just two people whom I forgot to be nervous around. Both are comedians, actors, musicians, entrepreneurs and staunch LGBTQ advocates. The first was Lily Tomlin. The second is Margaret Cho.
I recently caught up with her at home and look forward to catching her on stage for her Fresh Off The Bloat comedy show tour in Orange County in February 2022.
Yes, that smart, creative Cho, who broke out onto the comedy stage in her teens. Who grew up in the ‘70s on Polk Street in San Francisco, where her parents owned a bookstore in the heart of The Castro gayborhood. She knows all the places that writer Armistead Maupin described with a deep and abiding love. Cho even got to know him from book signings at the family’s bookstore.
Our girl, who was honored by GLAAD, American Women in Radio and Television, the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF), the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), PFLAG and LA Pride, which gave her a Lifetime Achievement Award for leaving a lasting imprint on the LGBT community.
In our pre-COVID world, Cho was doing several stand-up shows per week as well as fun things like The Masked Singer (2019) and voicing Auntie Ling in Netflix’s first major animated film, Over the Moon (2020), which was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. During the pandemic shut-down, she also appeared as a ruthless Hollywood movie studio exec in Faith Based, and as Fairy Gay Mother 1 in Friendsgiving.
What’s she up to now? “I’m back on tour with shows every week,” Cho said. “It’s been so strange, a weird time for comedians. Once I was on the stage with an audience, I realized how much I had missed this. It felt like a celebration, but I am cautiously optimistic. I am asking theatres to require proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test.”
This past year, Cho continued to expand her television and film career, including the new Netflix comedy Good on Paper. “Film is something I have always wanted to do, and now is a great time because there are so many more Asian-American production companies and stars. I recently got to spend two months on Fire Island, New York filming a project. It was an awesome experience,” she said.
Cho is also the proud recipient of the 2021 She Rocks Dreaming Out Loud Award. They honored her for being “an accomplished performer in all formats. Margaret Cho could be called the ‘Queen of all Media’ having conquered the worlds of film, television, books, music and theatre. Throughout her career, Cho has received five Grammy Award nominations (including two for her most recent albums, Cho Dependent and American Myth) …”
Her comedy has always included advocacy. Sometimes it is hard to know what us “average people” can do, those without a microphone. As a fierce advocate for the LGBTQ and the Asian-American communities, Cho said to “tell your story too, help bring the world together. It’s cool to see how young people in our LGBTQIA community are connecting, creating unity, purpose, and a sense of community online and through TikTok. It’s beautiful to see our trans and LGBTQIA youth out, proud and gender-fluid. Living without labels. It’s really vitally important to share your stories. We are still underrepresented.”
“Vote, of course. Trump might be gone, but there are still long-term effects, like the Supreme Court. They’re Trump in motion. Look at Roe v. Wade. We are losing the right to choose in huge states like Texas. There are monstrous new laws that affect the rights of people. But I do believe there is still time to reverse the discrimination and bias, and there is still time to reverse global warming,” Cho said, with passion flowing through her words.
Cho, like most of us, spends a chunk of her day scrolling social media and has fallen in love with TikTok. She follows and gives a shout-out to fellow comedians. “I’m inspired by Ali Wong, Jenny Yang, Daniel Web,” she said. “Robin Tran is one of my favorite comedians, out of Little Saigon, LA, well really Orange County, but I say LA because I really want to claim her.”
Above all, Cho, who has been taking her comedy act on the road for 35 years, knows well the sacred space that comedy can create: “Comedy is a noble art. It is like yoga. Comedy is an unexpected thought and laughter is an unexpected breath. When you laugh, you change your breath, and you open your heart. It’s very cool.”
Follow Cho on Facebook, Instagram or TikTok. Her podcast The Margaret Cho is coming back and will continue to be both funny and relevant, speaking against Asian-American violence and stereotypes, something she has spoken about since her very first appearance on the stage. “Historically speaking, every time there is a crisis in America, part of White Americaness is to respond with fear and blame and violence against people of color,” she said.
Cho is equally glad to chat about her furry four-legged children. Lucia, her Chihuahua, travels with her on the road, while her cats Sacre Coeur and Sarang are taking over the house. She recently adopted a third kitty. “I am new to being a cat person. I’ve always had dogs. But I am loving it. I have a Japanese-style Cat Kyoto house with posts, red rope (for the red fence), a pagoda and carpet. There is now a whole cat food theatre on my dining room table. It’s like a cat food casino. There are slot machines and 10 food puzzles. I have a cat treadmill; it looks like a giant hamster wheel. It’s a cat paradise. They get to go sit on the ‘catio.’ (It’s a screened-in patio so the cats can’t get out or be eaten by coyotes, bears or bobcats out in the canyons.) There’s Scandinavian mid-century-style wooden slats and hummingbird feeders hanging on the other side so they can watch their cat TV.”
“I want to change the perception of the Crazy Cat Lady. Seriously, the reason Lucia was barking earlier was because there is a film crew here to film my ‘catio’ and cat casino. I want to change and uplift the clothing and design aesthetic around pets. Most of the pet furniture and clothing designs are paw-print or ugly. Cat ladies need better stuff. Cats need better clothes. We need cat kimonos and cat Irish cable knit sweaters. This has been stupid fun for me,” Cho said, laughing.