'I'm A Victim': Margaret Cho Reveals History Of Sexual Abuse

Margaret Cho was raped and sexually molested numerous times growing up, she revealed in an interview with Billboard published on Wednesday. The interview was arranged in anticipation of the launch of her “psyCHO” comedy and music tour on October 2, as well as her untitled album which addresses her abuse.

According to the article, Cho brought up her abuse, which occurred from age five to 12, within the first 20 minutes of their meeting.

“I had a very long-term relationship with this abuser, which is a horrible thing to say. I don’t even understand it was abuse, because I was too young to know,” she said. “I endured it so many times, especially because I was alone a lot.”

She was also raped by another person when she was 14, and throughout her time as a teenager.

“I was raped continuously through my teenage years, and I didn’t know how to stop it. It was also an era where young girls were being sexualized. For me, I think I had been sexually abused so much in my life that it was hard for me to let go of anger, forgive or understand what happened.”

From Billboard:

7:15 p.m.: The song, entitled “I Want to Kill My Rapist,” is from her new album. Cho starts singing: “I want to kill my rapist, I want to kill my rapist,” repeatedly to me while Andy strums an acoustic guitar. The rest of the lyrics elaborate on this theme and are occasionally funny, but it comes from a real and dark place. She continues, “I thought I forgave you, but I’d mistake you. I’ll shake you and I’ll bake you. You better run now while I’m having fun now. Here comes the sun now, and you’ll be done now. I see clearly and sincerely, you’ll pay dearly…”

“I’m still trying to figure out how to be a musician, but I really enjoy it,” she said. “But really we want to kill the rapists.”

“I’m a victim and now a survivor of sexual abuse and rape, and I think it’s really hard to talk about it. I think having a song to perform live will allow others to talk about it. It’s a huge issue, and this was cathartic for me.”