Margaret Cho is letting bygones be bygones with one of her comedian cohorts.
During an interview with Entertainment Weekly while hyping her new Netflix movie, “Good On Paper,” the comedian, 52, mentioned she will be appearing on Jay Leno’s CNBC show, “Jay Leno’s Garage,” and addressed the former "Tonight Show" host's controversial Asian jokes that he made in the past.
At first, as Insider reported, Cho kind of blew off the worries, saying, "Frankly, Asian jokes go over my head because I've heard so many of them...I do a noise-canceling thing with them." She also clarified that she’d been booked on Jay’s show awhile ago.
But she did acknowledge that she was aware of the apology Leno made back in March, in a joint statement and Zoom call interview with Media Action Network for Asian Americans, that seemed frank and heartfelt in light of an uptick in Asain hate crimes.
"For him to step up and take responsibility is very meaningful,” Cho told Entertainment Weekly. “I'm so pleased with his response. I accept apologies.”
MANAA had released a list of Asian jokes Leno had made between 2002 and 2012, one which was delivered as recently as 2019 on an episode of “America’s Got Talent.”
Leno, 71, offered an apology regarding the old stereotypical jokes that would land with bigger thuds today.
Leno said he thought his jokes were basically harmless. "I was making fun of our enemy North Korea, and like most jokes, there was a ring of truth to them.
“At the time,” he continued, “there was a prevailing attitude that some group is always complaining about something, so don't worry about it. Whenever we received a complaint, there would be two sides to the discussion: Either 'We need to deal with this' or 'Screw 'em if they can't take a joke.' Too many times I sided with the latter even when in my heart I knew it was wrong. That is why I am issuing this apology."
MANAA accepted the apology, to which Leno replied, "MANAA has been very gracious in accepting my apology. I hope that the Asian American community will be able to accept it as well, and I hope I can live up to their expectations in the future."
It seems Cho certainly has. As have some other comedians.
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