“It’s a different way of looking at things,” she said, “so I think it gives people a lot of hope. It shifts perspective. And I think that’s what’s really needed. We need people who think a little bit differently. And that really, I think, promotes optimism. Comedians are really there to instigate hope or hopefulness.”

Cho is scheduled to perform at the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival Aug. 4 at 7 p.m. Her performance will be held at the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts.

Cho said she really loves the art form, and has been performing comedy since she was a child. It is one job, she said, that defines her. She admires the profession.

“I admire people who do it, and I get a lot of joy from just being able to be a part of a comedy community that, you know, has a long history as evidenced by this event,” she said about the festival.

Margaret Cho attends the 9th annual “Home for the Holidays” benefit concert at The Novo on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019, in Los Angeles.

She said she loves the lifestyle of comedy and most of her friends are comedians, so much of her social life centers around comedy.

When performing she thinks of how she can mesh her personal views and her personal issues in life with a kind of comedy that audience members can respond to in the same way they do with issues she has talked about.

“Comedians are trying to find a way to harness their true self,” she said.

Cho is a five-time Grammy and Emmy nominated comedian. She was recently awarded the Wowie (World of Wonder) 2020 trophy for Outstanding Comedian, starred in Hulu’s “Sex Appeal” with Mika Abdalla and Paris Jackson, starred alongside Awkwafina in Nora From Queens and with Iliza Shlesinger in Netflix’s “Good on Paper.” She was also part of Netflix’s first animated movie, “Over The Moon” with Ken Jeong and Sandra Oh which was nominated for an Academy Award & Golden Globe Award. Cho can also be seen in HBO Max’s “The Flight Attendant” with Kaley Cuoco and Rosie Perez, “Hacks” with Jean Smart and Hulu’s movie, “Fire Island” with Saturday Night Live alum Bowen Yang. Cho has also appeared on NBC’s long-running drama series “Law & Order: SVU” and sung her way on The Masked Singer. Cho was named one of Rolling Stone magazine’s 50 Best Stand-Up Comics of All Time while CNN chose her as one of the 50 People Who Changed American Comedy.

“I love doing comedy,” Cho said. “I’m renewed. My energy towards the art form has really been reinvigorated. It was never lagging before, but it’s a very exciting time to be doing comedy. It’s a good time to see any comedian because there’s so much to say. There is so much to talk about. And so it’s a good time in general to be out there.”