Margaret Cho, always hilarious and outspoken, is defending her Golden Globes bit saying only non-Asian people took issue with the recurring skit.
The comedian/actress visited Access Hollywood Live on Friday for her first TV interview since appearing at the Globes, where she was dressed in a military uniform while acting as a North Korean member of the Hollywood Foreign Press, a comedy bit that came together just a day before the show.
“Tina [Fey] told me about it a couple of weeks ago, then I came in on Saturday, the day before [the Golden Globes]. We talked about it, I wrote all the jokes and [Tina and Amy Poehler] helped me put it together,” Margaret told Billy Bush and Kit Hoover.
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Margaret, who is of Korean ancestry, explained that her and her family have a deep connection to what is going on with North Korea and its leader Kim Jong-un.
“It’s a great opportunity for me because my family really is affected by North Korea. I’m from that part of the world, my family has been separated from each other for 65 years,” she said. “Comedy is the only weapon we have against a totalitarian regime.”
Despite her performance – which included taking a photo with Meryl Streep and getting photobombed by Benedict Cumberbatch – making headlines with accusations of racism, Margaret explained the complaints only came from a certain group of people.
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“It was people, who were not Asian, getting mad about the fact that I was doing an impression of an Asian person,” she said. “I’m not doing an impression of an Asian person, I’m actually Asian!”
Adding, “What’s racist is that I was the only Asian person at the entire event!”
Margaret, who also hosts “All About Sex” on TLC, told Billy and Kit she hasn’t heard from North Korea about her lampooning, which she tackled on Tina’s “30 Rock” starting in 2011 as Kim Jong-il and then as Kim Jong-Un.
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“I’ve never received any backlash from North Korea. I think because I look so much like [Kim Jong-un], they think I am him, so they don’t come after me,” she joked. “I’m not scared. I don’t even know my own password for my emails. So if they could hack it, it would do me a favor. I have no idea how to get in.”
— Jesse Spero
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