Margaret Cho has been performing for years — but still keeps it low-key backstage.
“I don’t have much on my rider, [but] I do love going backstage to see what other artists have,” Cho, 56, exclusively shares in the latest issue of Us Weekly. “I’m, like, a scavenger. If an artist [has gone], their spread is up for grabs.”
She adds, “When I go to a Rufus Wainwright show, I steal his Nutella because he has it on his rider and never eats it.”
There is one VIP must-have for Cho — who drops her Lucky Gift album on Friday, February 14 — backstage.
Margaret Cho’s ‘Live and Livid’ Tour Is the Purr-fect Place for Her Pets
“My service dog, Lucia, is always with me,” Cho tells Us. “She’s a huge comfort and a favorite on the red carpet.”
In addition to Lucia, Cho is a proud pet mom to cats Sacre Coeur, Sarang and Uju, also bringing them on the road.
“It’s fully equipped with scratchers, toys, cat grass, water stations, catnip tea bar and fluffy beds as well as sun protection,” she previously told Us of her dressing room in October 2023.
At the time, Cho gushed over bringing pup Lucia wherever she goes from tours to interviews and more.
“She loves to meet everyone when we go out and she’s popular everywhere we go,” Cho said in 2023, adding that Lucia “travels the world with me.”
Lupita Nyong’o and More Celebs Who Are Obsessed With Their Cats
While Cho is a seasoned veteran when it comes to touring, there are still surprising moments that can arise and catch her off-guard.
“I performed in Sweden and the audience didn’t laugh for the [entire] hour and a half,” she tells Us in the latest magazine issue. “At the end, they gave me a standing ovation and sang their national anthem, then presented me with a wooden knife. That was their form of appreciation.”
Cho will happily take all the applause and accolades before unwinding at a very exclusive yet private afterparty.
“I go home to rest,” she tells Us of her ideal plans. “I make sure my dog and cats get fed, [are] played with and groomed. I’m 56 and sober, so I partied enough.”
Cho has been sober since 2016 after previously struggling with addiction.
“The entire situation made me very grateful to be alive. It’s pretty incredible that I got out of opiates before I got into fentanyl,” she recalled to The Guardian in 2021 of her previous rehab stay.
For more on Cho’s touring rituals, pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now.
