Comedian and "bicon" Margaret Cho was on stage at the 2024 Out100 event Wednesday in Los Angeles, making a call to action to show queer kids that they can grow up to be happy. She urged queer adults to "stand tall and stand proud and look happy" even when it seems hard.
After joking that she was suffering from "insomala" after Kamala Harris' loss in the election, Out100 honoree Cho didn't mince words when calling out U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace for her anti-trans bathroom bills.
Margaret Cho
"Fuck Nancy Mace and these hideous anti-trans-woman bathroom laws in Congress," Cho said. "It's disgusting, they're just trying to bully Sarah McBride, who's coming in, she's the first trans woman elected to Congress…and Nancy Mace is just bullying her. I hope she contracts the most antibiotic-resistant urinary tract infection ever and is forced to wipe back-to-front for the rest of your life. May you never get cranberry juice, bitch!"
The South Carolina Republican was behind a resolution banning transgender women from using women’s restrooms at the U.S. Capitol. Mace later confirmed that the rule was "absolutely" targeting newly-elected Delaware Democrat Sarah McBride, the first-ever out transgender lawmaker in Congress.
At the Out100, Cho then turned her focus on how LGBTQ+ adults can be there for trans youth in the difficult times after the election. "What happened, is it affected trans youth, gay youth, queer youth, nonbinary youth everywhere. There was a spike 700 percent for teen suicide hotlines amongst gay youth," she said. "It's so upsetting, so we have to protect the youth. So what we have to do as gay adults is we have to look happy all the time. Because gay kids will see you, so you gotta stand tall and stand proud and look happy. Because these gay kids will see you and they will realize that they will be able to grow up, that it's possible to grow up happy."
"So hold your partners hand even if you fucking hate them," Cho joked. "Even if you have to dig your fingernails into their palm, even if you want to snap that CPAP machine right off their face every night, fucking just look happy and do it for the children."
Other Out100 honorees who took the stage include Wicked star Cynthia Erivo, who was named the Icon of the Year, and Abbott Elementary star Sheryl Lee Ralph, who was named Advocate of the Year.
