The Chosen one
A conversation with the unstoppable Margaret Cho
By Hannah Sung, CBCNews.ca
March 27, 2008

Margaret Cho has built an empire by circumventing Hollywood gatekeepers who don’t want her kind — an outrageous, outspoken and queer comedian who doesn’t fit the public perception of Asian women.

Since the crash and burn of her 1994 star vehicle All American Girl — billed as the first Asian-American sitcom — Cho has attained success on her own terms. She has openly discussed the indignities of working on All American Girl — not only did the network, ABC, hire a consultant to help her appear more “Asian,” but she was instructed to lose weight, which led to eating disorders and hospitalization. In 1999, the Korean-American performer created a one-woman stand-up show called I’m the One That I Want, in which she aired dirty laundry with no-holds-barred punch lines. The tour was so successful that it spawned a book and a concert film.

A consummate exhibitionist, Cho’s public persona goes beyond comedic fare, extending into bellydancing, burlesque, blogging and flaunting a great many tattoos. This summer marks Cho’s return to television, with a VH1 reality program called The Cho Show. Cho is currently on a stand-up tour called Beautiful, which is scheduled for Vancouver on Friday, March 28, and Toronto on April 4. In a wide-ranging interview, Cho spoke about her love of both Barack Obama and Grey’s Anatomy and why it’s never a bad thing to air your secrets.

Q: You’ve built a career on comic material about your deepest, darkest moments. What compels you?

A: If I do something and it’s horrible and I’m totally embarrassed, I want to talk about it in order to make something good out of it. You know the blind governor [David Paterson] who said that he had extramarital affairs in New York? He made that statement [last] week as a pre-emptive strike, before anybody finds out. And you know, that’s kind of brave. I think it’s good to share things that are embarrassing and dark and unpleasant, because I think there’s a lot of healing in that.

Q: When did you discover that you could talk about stuff like that and make people laugh?

A: I’ve always been into disclosing whatever happens, because my family is so against that. They’re about keeping up appearances and not being upset. It’s very Korean.

Q: How do your parents deal with your candour?

A: I’m free. I flaunt my freedom, and I think it’s very exciting to be like that. My parents just don’t say anything, because they’re really proud of me. Also, they feel really guilty for not supporting me in the beginning. That kind of guilt gives me a lot of mileage. [Laughs.] I think with Koreans, if you make enough money, everything is OK.

Q: You used the word “free” to describe yourself. It seems you’ve become of a symbol of that kind of freedom for your fans.

A: Yeah, it’s a wonderful place to be, being in this industry and being free of the trappings of it or the disturbing parts. We have such a sexist industry, and it’s very difficult for women of colour to get anywhere, but fortunately, I’m able to do what I like because my work is independent.

Q: Do you think that’s the positive side of being an outsider?

A: Yes. I don’t have to rely on a studio. I can just choose to work with people I like. I like working with VH1 because they have confidence in me. They’ve invested in what I do and they’re big fans, so that’s a great plus. I don’t have to compromise, and it feels really, really good.

Q: This summer, VH1 will be airing your new reality show, The Cho Show. What can we expect to see?

A: It will be my world, with my parents, and travelling and doing comedy and fighting with them and loving them and enjoying them and, you know, my other family of different, gay people. It’s a glimpse into this whole world that I travel in. There’s never been an Asian-American reality show. So it’s really exciting.

Q: Your last show, which aired 14 years ago, was touted as the first Asian-American sitcom. Why do you think that the Asian-American presence in Hollywood is still at a stage of firsts?

A: I don’t know. It’s this strange kind of race perception among Asian-Americans that we don’t have enough representation in this industry, and so our needs get pushed aside. Almost like we have to wait for white people to come up with the idea first. [Laughs.] Also, you can’t really measure how much our presence in this industry has to do with the fact that immigrant families have a deep distrust of their kids going into the arts. That’s the kind of the thing that starts in the home and then impacts an image in the world.

Q: When you look at the racism that still exists in mainstream entertainment, there’s no wonder why there’s that distrust.

A: Right. The casual nature of the racism against Asians in entertainment is really so prevalent and so troubling. It’s just a difficult situation, so you can see why there’s that distrust.

Q: That may be why audiences connected with Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, which was a stoner comedy that just happened to have two non-white stars. One of the film’s stars, Kal Penn, recently invited you to Temple University to speak about U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama. You’re not timid about opposing President George W. Bush, but were you nervous about actually endorsing a candidate?

A: Yes, because you want to make sure that you’re helping the campaign — the whole point of endorsing somebody is to help their campaign. And I respect Kal Penn very much. He’s a very good friend of mine, so it was a wonderful opportunity for he and I to hang out and do something that is so different for the both of us. One of the reasons I love Barack Obama so much is that I feel included by him in this whole discussion, and that’s really profound. It’s an amazing feeling.

Q: Your current stand-up show is called Beautiful. What are your words of wisdom on being beautiful?

A: Just call yourself that and decide that you are. We just have to let go of all that negative self-talk, which for me has always been a problem. I could never look at a mirror image without criticizing myself. And I think that’s really detrimental over time. It’s [about] changing that negative self-talk to positive self-talk. And looking at people who look like us and saying that they look beautiful — that’s a really important thing, too.

Q: Your tattoos — are they an extension of that positive self-talk?

A: Yes, because it really makes me feel great. I feel that I can adorn my body in a new way and it’s just enhanced me. I imagine that when people get plastic surgery, they feel better. I don’t necessarily want to go that route, because it’s not me, but having tattoos is a body modification that I feel comfortable with.

Q: You mentioned that we should look at people who look like us and say they’re beautiful. What about a fellow Korean in Hollywood, Sandra Oh?

A: Oh, she’s so beautiful and such a great actress. She’s just awesome. I watch [Grey’s Anatomy] and I get so excited. I watch it because there’s all kinds of Asian people on it anyway, but it’s so thrilling to see her just really shine, you know? It’s a great venue for her to perform. I don’t understand why she’s not getting the big movies like Katherine Heigl, who is also stunning and a great actress, but you can see that there is truly racism in our industry. When someone like Sandra Oh, who is so immensely talented, isn’t opening big movies on holiday weekend, it’s like, Why not her? What are they trying to say? Racism totally exists in Hollywood, [even] if you can’t see it right there, it’s true.