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Cho: Execs feared weight regain more than kidney failure
1 Jul
Summary
- Executives prioritized weight loss over comedian's health issues.
- Margaret Cho suffered kidney failure after taking Fen-phen.
- Cho was told she was 'way too fat to be you' for her own show.
Comedian Margaret Cho recently shared details about the intense body image pressures she encountered while starring in the 1994-1995 ABC sitcom "All-American Girl." Executives reportedly focused heavily on her weight, with Cho recalling executives stating she was "way too fat to be you" for the role where she played herself.
Cho revealed that after significant criticism about her size, she resorted to taking the weight loss drug combination Fen-phen. This led to a rapid 30-pound weight loss in two weeks, but it also resulted in kidney failure, an ordeal she discovered after urinating blood.
Remarkably, when executives learned of her severe health crisis, their primary concern was not her recovery, but rather that she not regain the lost weight. Cho interpreted this as them being "more terrifying that I was gonna have to stop dieting than that I was sick," a reflection of their perceived understanding of television and audience focus groups.
