Margaret Cho Explains Why She Regrets Declining "Heated Rivalry" Role

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The comedian traces her activism back to her parents' gay bookstore in San Francisco.

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Margaret Cho sat down with Craig Melvin on this week's episode of GLASS HALF FULL for a wide-ranging conversation about resilience and reinvention after nearly four decades in comedy. Among the revelations: Cho turned down a role in 'Heated Rivalry,' a decision she now says she regrets.

Cho spoke about the toll of her early career, describing how 'All-American Girl' offered representation to a generation of Asian American viewers while quietly damaging her relationship with her own body. She also detailed an intervention that led her into rehab, and credited a 'Golden Girls' star with convincing her she would be okay in Hollywood.

The comedian traced her LGBTQ+ advocacy back to her parents' gay bookstore in San Francisco, framing decades of activism as rooted in that early environment. She discussed what it takes to keep finding material and staying funny after years in the industry, weaving personal history into the broader conversation about longevity in comedy.

Cho recently brought her show Choligarchy to Berkeley Repertory Theatre , an unfiltered set tackling addiction, abuse, activism and politics. A review of her Choligarchy tour stop at The Fillmore Minneapolis noted that her decades in the business inform even her most absurd material, a throughline that carried into her conversation with Melvin.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/Margaret-Cho-Says-She-Regrets-Turning-Down-a-Role-in-HEATED-RIVALRY-20260915)._