I met Margaret Cho on Saturday
March 17, 2008 | Life | Spark Clients
I’m usually not the star struck type, but I’ve been talking about this a lot and thought I’d post it to share with all.
Just this Saturday, I had the wonderful experience of meeting my personal idol and comedienne, Margaret Cho backstage in her green room after her show at the Warfield. A friend of mine, Josh, is a writer for gay.com and has been interviewing celebrities for the popular online portal. Margaret Cho and Liam Sullivan (of Kelly Shoes YouTube phenomenon) were his last two interviews, which is how I got the back stage pass to meet both.
Backstage…
I was so nervous I actually asked one of the backstage staff members, “Is this where I go to meet Margaret?” which Josh chided me for, “Jeff, you can’t seem so eager.” Fortunately, I had professional celebrity interviewer, Josh to rely on. He somehow identified the tour manager in a crowd of twenty fans and staff, chatted him up and within moments we were whisked back to Margaret’s green room.
I told her that I was a huge fan, that she was an inspiration for me, and that we had many similar experiences (she went to my high school and grew up in the same town that I did). She complimented me on my glittery tshirt and I asked her to sign my book. I told her that I had actually met her before years back during a book signing on Halloween and she remembered it (or at least politely pretended to).
I asked for a photo and then pretty much everything else was a blur. I think at one point I grabbed her hand and asked her to excuse me because I was so nervous which she thought was charming I’m sure. Josh was a lot more professional and managed to get Margaret’s personal assistant to get his name on some email list for LA engagements. We both took photos.
Why I love Margaret
I know that most people don’t really understand Margaret, so I’ll take this time to explain why I love her. Beyond being hilarious, Margaret, more than any other comedian I’ve ever seen or heard, has a political point of view that stems from her unique background of being an Asian American queer woman, and uses her popularity as a platform for social issues.
Margaret is a champion for gay civil rights, women’s right to choose, and is the voice for smaller communities that don’t have as large of a reach as she does. She also speaks up regularly against body idealism that gay men and women face, and continues to challenge racial discrimination and stereotypes. She brought the first Asian American family to the small screen and will bring the second Asian American family to the small screen again this summer (“The Cho Show” VH1). She also talks openly about her own body issues, her challenge with weight loss, the obstacles she faces as an Asian American woman in media, and techniques to achieve personal happiness. She’s also a sassy diva and makes really inappropriate jokes on stage.
- Jeff
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