An Interview With Margaret Cho

Interview and feature by Loraine Ho

Provocative comedian Margaret Cho details her activist work and new stand-up tour over the phone with Ka Lamakua.

Listen to the entire sound clip HERE.

Comedy and commentary mix in upcoming “Beautiful” tour

Also printed in the Ka Leo

Margaret Cho makes political statements simply with her presence. She’s been dis-invited from appearing at a Democratic National Convention fundraiser due to her confrontational routines and had the mic shut off on her at a hotel during a corporate gig.

Now she’s kicking off her new “Beautiful” tour in the U.S., starting in Hawaii. On Sunday she'll be in downtown Honolulu at the Hawaii Theatre. In a telephone interview with the Ka Lamakua, Cho assured us that her new piece will be, “pretty wild…a sexually very graphic show. It’s kind of juxtaposing the beautiful with the grotesque.”

The last time Cho visited Hawaii was for her 2005 “Assassin” tour, which lampooned religious institutions, George Bush, and right-wing views on homosexuality.

Margaret Cho has succeeded in blurring the lines between entertainment and activism, comedy and commentary. She frequently updates her blog with both the personal and political, and has criticized the media for a sensationalizing Obama’s wearing a turban and even Britney Spears’ period stains. Cho has become active with the media through her CNN commentaries on the presidential candidates. “Race is often seen as just a black-and-white issue, but really there’s just so much more to it,” she noted. “So I hope to add more to that discussion.”

After being on the fence between the Clinton and Obama in the upcoming election, Cho is now becoming a campaign surrogate for Obama.  “It was hard to make that decision though, because I really like both of them. It’s interesting to have two different people you feel are qualified for the job,” she said.

“My activism goes hand-in-hand with what I do as an entertainer,” said Cho, because politics ties in so much with her own identity. “I’m a woman, I’m Asian-American, I’m queer, I’m a lot of these different things that don’t have a lot of representation in the media.”

The LGBT channel, Logo, is sponsoring Cho’s “Beautiful” tour. Oceanic Cable recently began running the Logo network, bringing queer-themed programming to the islands. “They also sponsored the True Colors Tour which I did last year… which was an incredible tour that was devoted to ending homophobia and stopping hate crimes,” she said.

Margaret Cho began touring with her stand-up piece “I’m the One That I Want”, which dealt with the struggles minorities have due to race, sexuality, and appearance. When asked how much has changed since then, Cho responded with, “There’s a lot more Asians in the world of entertainment.” She noted shows like Lost, Grey’s Anatomy, and Heroes, where Asian Americans are gaining more representation.

The “Beautiful” tour promises much racy, politically charged material. The comedian Liam Sullivan, who plays the “Kelly” character of You Tube fame, will be accompanying her to Hawaii for her performance. Cho’s portrait stares defiantly from the promotional flyers for “Beautiful”, and she’s donned in a style reminiscent of a Clockwork Orange. Get ready.