By Gregg Shapiro
The year has just begun, but 2025 is turning out to be a fantastic one for queer multi-hyphenate Margaret Cho. In January, Cho appeared on “Celebrity Jeopardy” where she left fellow contestants Rachel Brosnahan and Seth Green in her dust, winning more than $50k for her charity of choice, Friendly House, and advanced to the semi-finals level of competition. Her successful Live and Livid comedy concert tour, now in its second year, has a selection of new dates. She has numerous movie and TV projects forthcoming. As if that wasn’t enough, Cho is releasing her third music album titled “Lucky Gift.” Even with such a busy schedule, Margaret was gracious enough to make time for an interview.
Gregg Shapiro: Margaret, I want to begin by congratulating you on your “Celebrity Jeopardy” appearance which aired a week before this interview. I loved the way you dominated the “Global
Pride” category.
Margaret Cho: Thank you [laughs]!
G.S:Then you ultimately advanced to the semi-finals, winning more than $50,000 for your charity,
Friendly House. What was the experience like for you?
M.C: Thank you so much! That was incredible because I love the show. I've been playing it in my mind for all of this time. It was exciting to actually be on the set and then to meet Ken Jennings and then just to be able to do what I've been fantasizing about for such a long time. I loved being part of that.
G.S: “Lucky Gift” is your third music album. What do you get personally from making music that differs from doing comedy?
M.C: It's just a different form of expression. With comedy you have words, but with music you have
instruments, you have chords, you have tones, you have a voice, you have all sorts of different ways to
approach art and communicating with music that comedy doesn't quite do. For me, it's really gratifying.
I also just love to make music. I do it every day anyway, just like I do comedy every day. It's just a big part of who I am.
G.S: Apart from the title track and “Boyfriend From China,” for which you received sole writing credit, you collaborated with Garrison Starr and Roger Rocha on the remaining tunes. What are the individual attributes of Garrison and Roger that make them good co-songwriters for you?
M.C: They're both, musically, just genius. They have different approaches, and I really love
working with both of them. I think they just bring out the best in me sonically. The intricacy of Roger’s
musicality – he's phenomenal. Then Garrison comes at the writing with so much heart. She has a direct line to emotional truths with the way that she writes. I'm grateful. They're very different and unique as artists. I love working with them.
G.S: Do you think you’ll continue to collaborate with Garrison and Roger?
M.C: Yes, for sure. Always.
G.S: The keyboards and the handclaps on “Sisyphus” give the song an ‘80s vibe. Of all the music you’ve listened to during your lifetime, where does music from
the 1980s rank on your list?
M.C: It's huge! If I were to stick with one era, it would be the ‘80s. I think it was such a great time for music because we had technology really changing the way that musicians were working and writing. Using synthesizers in a different way. Using all sorts of computers in a different way. I love New Wave! I think that era was so powerful. I also have had a chance to work with my favorite artists from the era, whether that's Blondie, Cyndi Lauper, or Joan Jett on the True Colors Tour.
G.S: I remember seeing that tour in Chicago.
M.C: I'm so lucky to be able to have worked with my divas from the ‘80s who are still amazing. Of
course, I think The Go-Go’s are it! That was the first concert that I ever went to and they're all friends of mine. They're artists that just keep on giving. They keep on doing it, and I love that.
G.S: I was excited to hear your cover of Freur’s “Doot Doot,” which is not a song that has been covered by many other artists. Why did you choose to include that song?
M.C: I love that song! That's like the ultimate blend of ‘80s technology and the new idea of where we're
going to approach rock and roll. I find that song to be so moving. You can kind of paint any situation onto it. We don't really know what it's about. It could be anything, and I love that about that song.
G.S:“Funny Man” and its accompanying music video are a loving tribute to Robin Williams.
There’s a line in the song that goes, “you always got my name wrong.” Can you please say
something about that?
M.C: He thought my name was Margaret Chow, which is so funny. He did so for about 40 years. He had
it stuck in his mind that that's what it was. It was so hilarious. I guess he thought I was Italian. I love him. I miss him. I want people to remember him. We don't talk about his legacy in comedy enough, I think because of the terrifying, uncomfortable way that he decided to leave. This is a good way to
remind everybody of him and what he meant. Also, to talk about funny people who don't necessarily feel great.
G.S: I’m glad you mentioned that because you describe the song as “an anthem to the funny guys who didn’t always feel so funny on the inside.” Do you think there’s a public misconception about the performer they see on stage and what that performer’s life is like offstage?
M.C: Yes. I think, especially for comedians, the idea is that we're relied upon to be funny and
always be on. The fact is that comedy or a sense of humor is a coping mechanism.
Oftentimes people are really funny, but they also have a lot to cope with. They have that
sense of humor because they've had to deal with so much trauma throughout
their lives. People have an idea that comedy is about happiness and it's kind of not. It's
really interesting. I want to spread that idea.
G.S: My personal favorite song on the album is “You Can Be You,” on which you are joined vocally by Garrison Starr. Please tell the readers about how that song came to be.
M.C: That song was written on the day that Nex Benedict died. Nex Benedict was a non-binary, gender
non-conforming teen from Oklahoma who was failed by the state of Oklahoma, the Board of Education, the students, the teachers, and the staff at the school they attended. The incredible inhumanity of people, the constant misgendering, the constant mockery of this young person's life
really made me so angry. I wanted to write a song that spoke to nonbinary youth, non-binary teens,
queer teens, trans teens, who are struggling with the onslaught of homophobia and transphobia from
our current administration and the country at large. It's a terrible time. I wanted to have a song that was speaking to them; that was about letting them be themselves, allowing them to be them. That was a really important thing to me. Embracing pronouns. Embracing the idea that they don't have to be gender conforming. You can be yourself. There was such a feeling of hopelessness after Nex’s death, that I didn't know how to address it. The song is meant for that.
G.S: Your “Live and Livid” tour is now in its second year. Would you say that in early 2025 you are as livid as you were or livider than ever?
M.C: I'm so livider. I'm so livided [laughs]! It's so scary. But I think we have to have more hope than ever. Through humor, there is hope. Laughter is resistance. There's a way to talk about things so that we can survive that. I'm putting all of my effort into writing about what's happening, talking about what's happening. Making sure that we can fight this injustice, this homophobia, this hatred, this transphobia. It's a nightmare, but I think we have to use humor to get through it.
G.S: Do you plan to incorporate songs from “Lucky Gift” into your show, or are there plans for a separate concert tour?
M.C: I want to do something separate. I haven't exactly figured out what that is. For me, it's so
different, so I would love to try to figure that out. I'm just in the process of doing that. There's some
music shows that I'm doing now and that will expand as we go along. Right now, the record is just coming out, so I want to see what happens. But I definitely want to do music, and of course, comedy.
G.S: Earlier we talked about ‘80s music, and I was wondering if you recorded another music album, might you include a cover of the Greg Kihn Band song “Jeopardy” in honor of your recent game
show triumph?
M.C: Ooh! I would love that. That would be great. I loved him. He's a San Francisco hometown rocker. I
think that would be absolutely perfect!
