Celebrity Q & A

By Margie Palmer

She’s Cho Beautiful

The countdown is officially on. The notoriously outspoken, wildly hilarious Margaret Cho will be appearing at Viejas Concerts in the Park in a matter of weeks.
The BottomLine recently caught up with Cho and asked her about the tour, the show and what it’s like to get back to her stand-up roots.

So how’s the tour going so far?
MARGARET CHO: It’s going great. We just started in Australia a couple weeks ago—it premiered down there. It was pretty great. We’re now taking it from Hawaii, to San Francisco and Los Angeles. It’s going wonderfully.

How have you been received in the cities you’ve visited?
It’s great. It’s always different, because it’s always different to perform in a different culture. [Beautiful] has been received wonderfully.

On your bio page, you say that to you, beautiful means: “I want to explore the nature of beauty. What is funny and scary about it, why we often don’t feel beautiful because our society’s standards are so rigid and unattainable?
A DJ once asked me, ‘If you woke up tomorrow and you were beautiful, what would you do? If you were blonde, blue-eyed, 5 foot 11, and weighed 100 pounds, what would you do?’ Well, I probably wouldn't get up in that case, because I'd be too weak to stand. If that is his only idea of beauty then I feel really sorry for him. I want everyone to feel beautiful and I want to do it with laughter. Why not feel good about ourselves?” I imagine that’s a tough subject to turn into comedy. Can you explain this to our readers?
Part of it is that, but [Beautiful] is about other stuff as well. There’s a lot of sexuality in the show. It’s raunchy and hard core, and portraying grotesque as being very beautiful too. So it isn’t all about this idea of beauty. There are a lot of different things going on.

What WOULD you do if you woke up tomorrow and you were 5'11'' and weighed 100 pounds?
Well, I probably wouldn’t get up and would be too weak to stand. That’s way too tall to be that thin. It’s really unrealistic and would be really unhealthy.

So how’s touring with Liam Sullivan and his alter ego “Kelly”?
He’s a lot of fun. We get along great—we’re old friends. [Liam] has been working with me for the past year and a half in different capacities, and he’s just great.

With as politically outspoken as you are, I often wonder what might come of you and, let’s say, Michael Moore being locked in a creative think tank for an hour. What are your thoughts on this?
Well I’m a big fan of his. He’s really extraordinary, a lightning rod in our society. [Moore] is important and progressive and an essential part of our culture because he’s holding the nation and our government accountable for what it does. It’s really great.

I couldn’t help but notice that, in your blog, you suggest that Oprah Winfrey should run for president. Moore has been saying this for years, having first written about it in his book Stupid White Men. Did you get this idea from him?
No. I think she should anyway. I came upon this on my own; I think she’s great.

Speaking of politically outspoken—the California Supreme Court has less than 90 days to rule on the California Marriage Equality Case. Do you think gays will finally get their victory?
I just though it was wonderful that [Mayor Gavin Newsom] allowed all those couples to marry [in 2004]. It was profound and beautiful. I think that year it brought up a lot of homophobia that people didn’t even know about. It’s really awful that people care enough about people they don’t even know, and whether or not they should get married. It’s ridiculous.

On your blog, you posted an open letter that was released by Barack Obama, addressed to the gay community. What inspired you to do this?
I thought it was cool. I also posted Hillary Clinton’s letter too. I think it’s really great that [the candidates] are addressing issues that are important to all of us.

The countdown is on for your appearance in San Diego. Are you looking forward to coming back to the city?
I’m really looking forward to it. My parents live there so I spend a lot of time in San Diego, actually.

What neighborhoods are you most fond of, and which do you frequent most?
My parents live in Carlsbad, so I just mostly hang out at their house. I really don’t do anything else.

VH1 is soon going to launch The Cho Show. What can viewers expect?
It’s going to be great. I love to do this type of show, and to be traveling around doing stand-up on tour. It’ll be that, and me hanging out with my parents ... my mom’s a big part of it. It’s a lot of different stuff. People will get a glimpse into my world, which is really cool.

What types of things will viewers see when they’re able to take a peek into your world?
It’s wild. My world is pretty gay and Asian, so it’s pretty ‘Gay-sian.’ It’s going to be pretty wild.

It’s been awhile since you’ve done stand-up. What’s it like getting back to your stand up roots?
I love it. I feel really excited and I love the show. I love doing stand-up—it’s easier then touring with an ensemble. Stand up is fun; there’s no costumes. It’s laid back. I prefer that.

Do you have any last words?
I’m really looking forward to performing in San Diego. It’s another home for me, and I’m really excited about the shows.