Business
Nothing is Taboo
A self-proclaimed, “Fag Hag,” advocating for gay rights has always been a no-brainer for Margaret Cho. Since the start of her comedy career in the ‘90s, Margaret has always used her comedy as a
self-proclaimed, “Fag Hag,” advocating for gay rights has always been a no-brainer for Margaret Cho. Since the start of her comedy career in the ‘90s, Margaret has always used her comedy as a platform for raising social awareness. Her no-holds barred style of stand-up has always communicated something more to her audience. Her comedy can be shocking, but often delivers a deeper message. She is a strong supporter of cannabis, an LGBT activist, and most importantly, an advocate for equal rights for all minorities and genders. We caught back up with Margaret this month, on tour, and chatted with her about her thoughts on cannabis legalization, advocacy and Weird Al.
You recently had a spotlight in Weird Al’s music video, “Tacky.” What was it like working with the infamous Weird Al?
Oh I love him, he is a great guy and I really admire him for his musicianship, and his great, great sense of humor. He’s just kind of a magical person. I’ve loved his work for many years and grew up with him, as many people have. So it was a real honor to be able to work with him on something of his, which was so great.
A lot of people in the LGBT community see you as a real advocate for equal rights. How did you become so outspoken on the subject?
Well, I grew up in San Francisco; I grew up around a lot of the very early gay political movements. I got to see Harvey Milk speak when I was a really young kid, and also was around to see the assassination, and all the incredible greats that surrounded San Francisco at the time, and this was in the late ‘70s. Almost directly after, in the early ‘80s, it was completely devastated by AIDS. So, when you grow up in that kind of a world, especially during the assassination of a great, heroic character in this amazing story of gay politics, and then to see the population dissipated by disease, and the government is not doing anything about it, it really forms your point of view. So, that’s where I was really ready to be political, in those movements, and especially around the fundraising, and all the politics around that, to me that was really where I came from. That’s really what shaped my political view, and made me want to be political.
Has it been a lifelong goal for you to advocate for those issues?
Oh yeah, and advocating for all issues, especially advocacy for issues affecting our youth. That’s our future, and so that, to me, is an incredibly important thing. I would be political anyway, outside of show business, but what’s great is that there is opportunity to talk about all of these things in the parameters of what I do.
In your last interview with CULTURE, you mentioned that you were taking a bit of a hiatus from cannabis, is this still the case?
What was bothering me before was the smoking, and it not being good for my lungs, but I like all the vaporizers that have come out in the past year or so. It’s really amazing and I just love the way that marijuana culture grows. I look forward to seeing more inventions and things out there. It’s a really cool thing, and it’s just beginning, I think.
I know Joan Rivers was one of your biggest role models. In your books and stand-up you talk a lot about not having grown up with very many Asian-American role models. What message do you want to send to young girls who are trying to get into comedy and feel the same way?
We can really look to ourselves as role models; just really find a way to be your own hero, and do what makes you feel good. I think it’s hard for a lot of women, because we are socially raised to put other people’s happiness before our own. And this is across the board, it happens cross generationally and it crosses ethnic boundaries, and even social boundaries. I think it’s a very big thing that we need to deal with as women. Finding a way to put our happiness first or our needs first is a really difficult thing, but it’s the main thing anybody needs to do first of all in their lives. Whatever career you decide to go into, especially if it’s one in the arts, you’ve got to realize you’ve got to make yourself happy first. I think it’s really important to challenge the status quo, whatever that is. Whether it’s the kind of archetypes we cling to as far as gender, or any other stereotypes, I think comedy is a good art form in challenging the roles of society.
Watch Out!
Margaret will have a new show on TLC channel starting this month! It will air every Saturday night beginning January 9.
