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July 23, 2004

NGLTF withdraws from benefit after Cho is disinvited

A leading national gay rights group has withdrawn from a gay and lesbian political benefit titled "Unity 2004," scheduled for July 26 in Boston, after learning that comedian Margaret Cho had been disinvited to the event. The benefit will be held at a local bar known as Avalon at the same time as the Democratic National Convention. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force was one of 10 cosponsors of the event but withdrew after they found out Cho was disinvited by the gay rights group Human Rights Campaign. Cho's invitation was retracted in light of a recent controversy regarding celebrities who support John Kerry for president while publicly bashing President Bush.

The Human Rights Campaign said their choice to disinvite Cho from the benefit is justified. "The event is designed to be about the unity of the community behind John Kerry," an HRC spokesman told Variety.com. "We had invited Cho. When we asked about her material, we were told it would be a 'brutal performance,' which we didn't think was in the spirit of what we were doing. We didn't want to censor Margaret." The HRC spokesman warned of a potential "media firestorm" if Cho were to perform and referenced the recent criticism of Whoopi Goldberg by Bush supporters.

Matt Foreman, executive director of NGLTF, told Advocate.com that the organization is supporting Cho because of her commitment to the gay and lesbian community and noted that they had awarded her a Task Force Leadership Award last year. "Margaret Cho has been an incredibly loyal supporter of LGBT rights. She has performed at literally countless gay fund-raisers for free. She is one of us," Foreman said. "We don't think it's right to bow to concerns that the right wing will use what she has to say against the Democratic ticket." Foreman added that he doesn't feel the controversy will damage his group's relationship with HRC. "We're all allies in the fight," he said. "We have respectful disagreements all the time. And we really do consider HRC a very valuable ally."

In a statement on Cho's Web site, her manager defended her controversial comedy act by writing: "I am not surprised at the reversal in light of how the Kerry campaign distanced itself from Whoopi's routine in response to the unrelenting media hype and Republican criticism. It's Whoopi's job as a comedian to say things that are sometimes shocking. I wish they could have backed her up. Dennis Miller can make gay jokes about Kerry and Edwards at a recent Bush rally in Wisconsin to a complete absence of media scrutiny. No one demanded a tape of that event or alleged that his comments as a comedian might reflect poorly on Bush."

Keywords:  Margaret Cho 
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