Margaret Cho says TV show staff pressured her to lose weight
"People on the show were making it clear that if I didn't lose weight, we couldn't continue. The perception of Asian women in general, like if you were an Asian woman, you were supposed to be petite, you were supposed to be quiet, you were supposed to be like this exotic flower."
About this episode
In Big Think’s “The Me I Used To Be”, comedian Margaret Cho reflects on formative experiences she says shaped her sense of self and her relationship to comedy. Watching early footage, Cho says she hears insecurity in her younger voice and ties it to feelings of being “unlovable” and out of place, which she links to family disruption after her father’s deportation when she was born. She also recalls growing up around a gay bookstore during the AIDS crisis, describing the impact of widespread loss and stigmatising rhetoric.
Cho says comedy became a source of safety and power in adolescence, even as she recounts childhood trauma including rape and sexual assault. Later, she describes using alcohol, drugs and partying to avoid emotion and bodily sensation, framing humour itself as a deflection mechanism.
Discussing body image and television, Cho says she internalised harsh criticism and alleges that people on her sitcom “All American Girl” made clear the show could not continue unless she lost weight; she connects this to stereotyped expectations of Asian women on screen. Cho also recounts addiction in her 40s, including a suicide attempt while intoxicated, and says she ultimately got sober through treatment, staying in a facility for 22 months. She closes by describing outgrowing beliefs that she was “not enough”, and says she would tell her younger self: “Everything is going to be all right.”
Key takeaways
- Cho links early insecurity to her father’s deportation and separation from her mother after her birth.
- She recalls growing up around a gay bookstore during the AIDS crisis and the effects of stigma and loss.
- Cho says comedy provided a sense of safety and control during adolescence.
- She recounts childhood sexual trauma and later attempts to escape feelings through alcohol and drugs.
- Cho alleges she faced pressure to lose weight during the production of “All American Girl”.
- She describes a suicide attempt while intoxicated and says she got sober after 22 months in residential treatment.
- Cho says she no longer believes she was “not enough” and would reassure her younger self.