The Catalyst interview: Margaret Cho

San Francisco-born comedian Margaret Cho gladly wears the mantle of “Patron Saint of Outsiders.” She is Korean American, female and bisexual, all of which contribute to her outsider-ness, and all of which she is immensely and justifiably proud.

She began working as a standup as a teenager, in the 1980s, and over time developed an outspoken and brutally no-holds-barred delivery, sharing stories – and opinions – on race and sexuality issues.

She is also politically active in anti-racism, anti-bullying and gay rights campaigns.

Cho, who’ll perform Friday (May 19) in the Straz Center’s Ferguson Hall, is an Emmy-nominated actress (30 Rock, Drop Dead Diva), a Grammy-nominated musician and the host of a podcast, The Margaret Cho, on which she interviews people from both sides of the show business tracks (“outsiders” included).

Tickets for Friday’s Tampa appearance are here.

St. Pete Catalyst: Of all the things you do, is live standup where you heart is? I ask comics this all the time.

Margaret Cho: Yes, because it’s what I do more than anything else. And it’s what I’ve done the longest, and it’s really fulfilling. Although I love acting, I love the experience of being on TV – all of that’s really important to me, but standup comedy’s where I started. It’s a big part of my life, it’s a big part of my social life. All my friends are comediennes. We have a very important and active community together, so it’s really a big deal.

As an entertainer who’s outspoken on socio-political issues in today’s messed-up world, how do you avoid crossing the line into angry ranting? How do you hold back?

Well, there’s balance. And also, the angry ranting can be really funny too. There’s a big way to kind of combine it all where you are still focused on the job at hand, which is to be a comedienne. I think the message is “Let us, as queer people, live.” Why is it such a problem to be queer – especially in Florida – why is it something that must be silenced? To me, it’s a very odd kind of a thing where you’re just trying to erase gayness. The thing is, when you try to get rid of something … we’ll become more gay. I think that in itself is a funny idea, but there’s a true purpose behind it.

Is it one of those situations where you never run out of material because the world is so crazy?

And that’s what’s great about it! And now, with the way that we consume media, and news, you have an endless supply of stories that are political, human interest, world news, whatever that is, we all know about what’s going on. We have never in history had this much information about what’s happening in the world. So from that you can draw on so much. Everybody has a sort of common understanding of the world, because of how we’re addicted to our phones, and online constantly. It’s incredible.

I guess that 40 years ago, when you started, things were different. We weren’t all on the same news feed.

Yeah, you would have to explain a little bit more about what was happening. To people who didn’t know. Whereas now, the frames of reference are so narrow. Or broad. Broadly narrow! It’s like everybody knows everything, so you’ve got to come up with a new take on something.

You’ve got a couple of dates in Florida on this tour. Speaking of available material, isn’t Florida a bit like shooting fish in a barrel? A little obvious?

If Ron DeSantis is so anti-gay, then eating pudding with three fingers – which is basically fisting – is sending a mixed message. The hypocrisy of him trying to go up against Disney with branding – you have quite a fight! It’s so ridiculous, but it’s also terrifying.

Your fans know the things you talk about. Do they expect that at your shows – what would Margaret Cho’s Greatest Hits consist of?

It’s really what I’m very enthusiastic about talking about. Whether that’s my Asian-ness, which is a major part of my distance; my queerness, which is a big part of my life. My “brand” is like high and low – like high-minded, kind of meaningful topics, but with the most crass perspective.

So you have the high-minded, like “We’re trying to make the world better,” but using the most filthy ways of communicating that idea. That’s my idea; that’s my own brand.

You started doing your podcast four years ago. It is important that you attempt something new every once in a while, to sort of re-fuel the tank?

Yeah, it’s great because you get to learn things, new mediums, new way of working. And for me, that’s really exciting. I think that it helped my brain grow. Like, I’m always very interested in trying to make sure than my brain has not atrophied. I’m trying to grow new synapses and make new connections in my head. And that’s always a good thing, I like learning new stuff.

You’re often referred to as a “spokesperson” for Asian and LGBTQ issues. Do you ever wake up in the morning and think “Too much pressure! I don’t want to be a spokesperson, I just want to be funny”? Do you ever want to go out and just talk about airline peanuts?

Oh yeah, but you’re still a spokesperson for society. I think comedians have quite a lot of responsibility to society. We really do. All comedians do. But it’s whether or not we acknowledge that. Look at somebody like Jon Stewart – he has this huge responsibility to society, to really make sense of what’s going on, but from a comedian’s point of view.

I would say all comedians have that. We’re all sort of spokespeople for life. I don’t mind it – I think it’s really grand.

But you still have to get up there and tell jokes …

Yeah, you have to do that too! Actually, it’s more pressure to be funny, and to be clever, and to think of a new idea of how to present something rather than saying the “right” things. The funny things are really much more challenging.