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My Ellen Visit, Deferred
I am a big Ellen fan. I have been one for quite a long time now. I used to do the local news talk shows with her in San Francisco, when we were both still kids. I also opened for her at the Other Café when she would work special weekend shows, and she would bring the house down every night. She was miraculous to me, and continues to be. We both had sitcoms at the same time, filmed on the same lot, right next to each other. My show got canceled but hers went on, making history when she came out as a lesbian on national television. That episode completely changed my life and the lives of so many of us, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgendered folks and all around queers like me. Seeing someone proudly say they were gay, a star, someone we all knew and loved and respected, someone with the power to make us laugh and cry, was suddenly given another power -- she made us feel real. It was like -- "oh my God, we're real. We exist."
The power of visibility can never be underestimated. For this, she will always be my hero. She gave us the ultimate gift, herself, her true self, and with that gift, she made us all proud to be who we are. That is why when she asked me to do her show I was absolutely thrilled. I love her show! Especially the dancing!!! But with the writers on strike, I am unable to do it. This was a very difficult decision to make. I absolutely love Ellen, for a million reasons and for a very long time, but because of the way that I was raised, because my political views are they way they are, because I believe that workers should have the power and the ability to make their lives better, because many of my close friends are the ones picketing, I cannot cross the picket line. This was hard for me because I had to question what was more important to me -- my queer allegiance to Ellen, or my dedication to the writers and their families and all the people who have been sacrificing so much to the strike. The reason Ellen hasn't stopped production is because she refuses to put the 135 people who are employed on her show out of work, which is completely admirable and frankly heroic, considering all the flak she has gotten from the media. I apologize to Ellen and I hope that she understands my decision, and that when the strike is over, I will be able to do the show again. It has been a dream of mine for quite a while now, and I hope someday it will come true.
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I like and admire Ellen a lot, and, of course, supported her coming out when she had her sitcom.
Now on her talk show, though, it seems to me that she avoids talking about her sexual orientation almost completely, even when it would be relevant or interesting, which I think is playing it way too safe, and contradicts her earlier progressive action.
Really tough judgement call....but I have to say that if I were one of the 135 workers who could still feed my family I would be very happy. Dont' get me wrong, I think the writers are absolutely righteous in their cause. And the corporations who are stiffing them? Oink oink.
But when newspapers start outsourcing their journalism overseas, how long before we start watching Bollywood type sitcoms? hhaaaahaahh
My gut tells me the writers will have no success with their strike until workers in general start getting a fair piece of the pie. Everyone is feeling the pinch....some of them for years.
Let's face it, when a fiver won't cover the cost of a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread, and your rent eats up 3/4 of your monthly take, EVERYONE has to start bitching and pitching for changes at the top. Not just the writers.
Margaret's right. Ellen's wrong. Nuff said.
We love you, Margaret!
Thank you for years of making me laugh.
Thank you for speaking the truth about Bush and the neocons for those years when too many people were afraid to speak the truth lest they be labeled unpatriotic.
Your concern films "I'm the One that I Want", "Notorious C.H.O." and "Assassin" are NOT to be missed.
And, I hope you get another series soon where you can be exactly the wonderful person you are.
To all of you who are complaining that the writers are causing below the line workers to lose their jobs, how does it feel to be a tool? The producers know that the writers are the ones in the public eye, so the public will focus on them. They are counting on pressure from other workers to make the WGA cave, and you're playing their game with them. Why is it so many of you are asking if the WGA will give money to the out of work below the line workers, while the producers get off scot free? The producers are the ones with the billions, and they're the ones dragging out this strike. They are makeing every effort to let their employees know that their jobs are in jeopardy, so the employees will blame the union. Look at some of the video going around with studio heads talking about how much money they expect to make off of the Internet, then come back and justify your remarks that the blame for other people being out of work is all on the union.
And for all of those who claim that all TV sucks now, and that the public won't miss TV, stop kidding yourself. Do you think the average hours Americans watch TV increases every year because people don't care if they watch TV? And there will always be shitty shows. For every Bilko, there was a My Mother the Car. I would put Arrested Development, 30 Rock and The Office up against anything in the last 20 years.
Does anyone besides me long for the day we can all JUST BE WHO WE REALLY ARE without being LABELED and DISCRIMINATED against for one reason or another?
Bravo to Margaret for not crossing a picket line.
Tv has been so bad for so long, why blame it on the writers? The writers strike has just made us all realize that TV can be just as bad without writers. And myself i don't support unions, they are a way to keep those who have lost the will, or need to work, in a overpaid job. Come on now American cars are expensive,and quality has slipped.And all those closed factorys,in everybody town weren't they union? the WGA is facing an uphill climb, but, will the losses caused by a long strike, be the end of the union? or the end of TV as we know it.with 28 minutes of commercials in a one hour show how much talent does it take?
What's up with all you haters? Margaret has a principle she's sticking by regardless of her admiration to Ellen. We live in a society that will sell anyone out in a heartbeast, and Margaret choose to stand her ground and to support the writers. Where's the fucking crime in that?
Love you, Margaret. Always have. And I support the unions, too. I will have to say this though. TV writing and TV in general has eroded so badly in the last couple of years that I don't feel like I'm missing anything by not watching the current shows. Friends and Will and Grace reruns are working fine for me. Now that was writing!
Sorry Margaret.
Strikes always cause a wide circle of pain. The wider the pain, usually the faster the strike is settled.
You should never go back on Ellen. She's a strikebreaker with a piss-poor excuse.
Friends come and go; unions are forever.
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Margaret, you have class, grace and decency. Thank you for posting that
Yeah Yeah-- Ellen- Thanks to you we gained acceptance. We became part of the mainstream. But you know what--Ellen is boring & mainstream at this point. When are we going to have the Margaret Cho show???? So much more fun & groundbreaking. Forget abt going on Ellen. We are clamouring for you Ms Cho... America doesn't know that they are ready... you must lead the way( soon as this damn strike is settled). just as ellen did way back when. xo-Leda
Thanks for your post, you are so open and genuine. You make me cry everytime I watch your one-woman shows again. You are a great lady!
Cho's publicist asked if she could come on the show to announce her new tour. She had been scheduled to appear on Jan. 23rd for over a month. A couple days ago she said she had to cancel. She gave no reason.
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