Comedian and actor Margaret Cho has sparked fresh controversy with a pair of politically charged statements, accusing the U.S. government of overseeing what she called a “trans genocide” and rebuking fellow comedians who joke about transgender issues. Cho made the remarks during an appearance on the Who’s With Me? podcast, according to Breitbart News.
“It’s really scary and the way our government treats trans lives. You know, insane bathroom laws and identity laws, or taking people’s driver’s licenses,” Cho said. “It seems endless whether it’s re-legalizing conversion therapy. Supreme Court on down. You have all of these things that, you know, we’re in the middle of a trans genocide, and we have to do anything that we can to stop it. We have to make sure that trans people are safe and then start working on restoring equality to their lives.”
The comments come amid an ongoing national debate over transgender policies, including state-level restrictions on bathroom access, gender-affirming care, and participation in school sports, as well as federal court battles over such measures. Cho pointed to a range of policy areas, including “bathroom laws,” “identity laws,” driver’s license requirements, and what she described as the possible “re-legalizing conversion therapy.”
Warning to Fellow Comedians
In the same interview, Cho took aim at other comedians who have incorporated transgender topics into their routines, arguing that such material can have real-world consequences.
“I think trans lives has become a very big thing in comedy, because they want to contest it. They don’t understand that when you take trans lives lightly in a comedy routine, trans people die, and they don’t have that understanding. There are real consequences to your actions, because they don’t affect you personally, but this will affect a trans person’s life,” Cho said, as quoted by Breitbart.
Cho’s warning to her peers comes as several high-profile stand-up specials and comedy sets have drawn criticism from transgender rights advocates for jokes that some view as mocking or demeaning to transgender people. Defenders of such comedy often argue that no topic is off-limits in a free society, while critics like Cho contend that comedy can amplify stigma and harm.
Recent Controversy Over Sen. Lindsey Graham Death Joke
Cho’s podcast remarks follow a separate incident last month that drew widespread media attention. In an Instagram video posted to her 427,000 followers, Cho mocked the sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and expressed hope that Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and an unnamed third person would also die, according to Breitbart.
In the video, Cho joked, “From the closet to the coffin- real seamless,” a reference to long-standing speculation about Graham’s sexuality. She added: “So it’s Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham…it does happen in threes. Hope.”
While Cho did not name the third person she hoped would die, she included the hashtag #fdt — a common internet abbreviation for “Fuck Donald Trump” — as well as #pride, again referencing Graham’s sexual orientation. The post drew immediate backlash from conservative commentators and others who called the remarks tasteless and disrespectful.
Neither Cho nor her representatives have publicly commented on the Breitbart report. Requests for comment from the publication were not mentioned in the article.
The comedian, known for her stand-up specials and roles in shows like All-American Girl and Drop Dead Diva, has long been outspoken on LGBTQ issues and has frequently used her platform to advocate for transgender rights. Her latest comments are consistent with that advocacy, but her choice of language — particularly the term “genocide” — is likely to intensify debate over how to characterize the current policy landscape.
The term “genocide” carries significant legal and historical weight, and its use in political discourse has often been criticized by opponents as hyperbolic. Supporters of transgender rights, however, say that the accumulation of restrictive laws and judicial decisions amounts to a systematic erasure of transgender people from public life.
Breitbart’s coverage of Cho’s remarks highlights the ongoing cultural divide over transgender issues, a topic that has become a flashpoint in the 2026 midterm election cycle. Several Republican-led states have enacted laws that critics call discriminatory, while the Supreme Court has weighed in on cases involving transgender rights, including a recent ruling that allowed a ban on gender-affirming care for minors to take effect in some jurisdictions.
Cho’s call to “do anything that we can to stop it” suggests a willingness to escalate activism, though she did not specify what actions she advocates. Her comments to fellow comedians may also provoke a reaction from the comedy community, where free-speech absolutists and social-justice-minded performers have clashed over the limits of acceptable material.
As of this writing, no comedian has publicly responded to Cho’s criticism. The Who’s With Me? podcast episode featuring Cho has not been released publicly, and it is unclear when it will air.
The controversy is unlikely to fade quickly, as Cho’s high profile and willingness to use provocative language ensure continued media attention. Whether her “genocide” framing gains traction or backfires remains to be seen.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2026/08/13/margaret-cho-were-in-the-middle-of-a-trans-genocide/