Cho shares 'Beautiful' views

By Tamara Ikenberg

Margaret Cho, comic vamp and cheeky champion of all things unconventional, is bringing her one-woman show "Beautiful" to the Louisville Palace on Saturday.

The sexy rebel is also the star of VH1's "The Cho Show," in which she's accompanied by an entourage including her adorable parents and her hot little person assistant, Selene.

We talked to Cho about politics, pop stars and her parental units.

Q. You've always been open about your progressive political views, so I have to ask, what do you think of Sarah Palin?

A. I'm terrified about Sarah Palin. I thought that it was a big mistake for the Republicans to pick her, but now I think it was really smart. I think she's actually kind of sexy but I'd never vote for her. She's such an anti-feminist. She wants to send women back into the Stone Age.

Your awful experience with "All-American Girl," your 1994 sitcom vehicle, is well known (producers' premise changes, weight loss, "too-Asian/not-Asian-enough" battles). How is this new shot at a TV series different?

I wanted to do another show about an Asian-American family, and I really wanted to just use my family and they were willing and it was really perfect. And I'm a producer on it, so that's a big change and a huge part of it.

Is it similar to other VH1 celeb-reality shows?

It's more like a sitcom starring real people than it is like a reality show, and everything has a point. It's not just about following me around. It's closer to a Christopher Guest film, or "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

It is really scripted, but we improvise some dialogue. The way that it's constructed, it's very much like a sitcom.

Your hysterical impressions of your mom are so popular. What's it like incorporating your dad more?

I've always used them both, in a sense. I would use her voice, but I'd also use things he had said. They have been together for 45 years, so they are kind of the same person in a lot of ways. They've really melded.

On "The Cho Show" you ate putrid pizza out of a dumpster to underscore what it's like to go hungry. What's the grossest, most pointless thing you've seen done on a reality show?

On Tila Tequila's show, they were doing shots of animal blood. That really freaked me out. I couldn't deal with it. (But) I like that show a lot, and I like Tila Tequila a lot. I don't know her, but I feel like she's my spiritual daughter. She's bi (sexual) and she's Asian-American. She exists because I did.

I read on your blog that you're a big fan of Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, aka "The Flight of The Conchords." Do you know those wacky New Zealanders?

I tried to help them write a song. I was helping them come up with different words for male prostitute. I did pretty good.

What did you come up with? Gigolo?

Gay for pay, hustler, Inamorata ... I think Jemaine is gorgeous. He is dreamy. He is so cute and he smells really delicious.

Don't make Bret feel bad.

Bret's totally cute. Bret is the more traditionally good-looking one.

Speaking of music, you've said that Liz Phair's 1993 album, "Exile in Guyville," saved your life. What about the album moves you?

The songs are from this woman who's unafraid of her sexuality and owns it. She enjoys sex and enjoys that power, just like men do, which is a very unusual take from a women's perspective. It's a very '90s thing. (My favorite tracks) are "6'1" and "Strange Loop." … Liz Phair has really evolved, yet her message is still the same. She really hits it. She's such a poet. She's really great.

What do you watch on TV, besides your show?

"Sons of Anarchy" It's on F/X. It's all about bikers. I love Kathy Griffin's show, and I love "Project Runway."

How are you liking this season of "Project Runway?"

I was upset because Stella's off. She was my favorite. She was a good designer and she had a really great point of view, which was different than any designer I've seen in all the years of the show. That's my style; that tough rock 'n' roll thing. I was into her.