Whether she’s doing a stand-up special, writing a book, or hosting a talk show, one thing is for certain: Chelsea Handler is going to be an open book. She will take the audience on a hilarious journey, leaving no possible road untraveled.
Her penchant for being brutally honest as a storyteller is on full display in her latest Netflix special, The Feeling. In the special, Handler tackles a vast variety of topics that includes ruining Thanksgiving to a wild story that involves trying to start a fling with Andrew Cuomo and then going to George Bush’s compound. The latter is a story that she is perhaps proudest of from this latest special.
We recently spoke with Chelsea about her new special, her process of figuring out what stories she wants to tell onstage, how she approaches writing books - she just came out with her 7th -, being on The NY Times Best Seller list, and working on a new hour.
There’s certain stories - especially from your upbringing - that are just calling out to be put into a special. What took some of those early stories particularly so long to get into the act and the process of finally bringing them to life?
Well, I guess I’m at a period in my life where reflection is important. Where I’ve thought about where I came from, who I was. This was an overlap in both the new book and the special. Who you are as a little person. Who is that unbesmirched version of you before the world craps on you and you get your heart broken? It’s the essence of who you are. And the special to me demonstrates that I was like this and had this drive and personality and ambition from a very young age. And carried it through with me to adulthood. At times, you fuck up along the way, but how do you hop back on and remain true to who you are, which is this really fun and outrageous personality who’s driven, who wants to be successful, and who’s not going to put up with any bullshit. And also not to take yourself too seriously.
And as you’re reflecting on your past, is there any stories you had to get comfortable with before you could tell?
It doesn’t take me a lot of time to get comfortable telling stories onstage. I usually tell them to a person. Then I’ll tell another person. Then I’ll tell a group of people. Then the story starts getting refined and I tighten it and edit it. And then I bring it onstage. And then I do the same thing onstage. So it’s really about making sure you get enough personal experiences that you have something to bring on the stage.
Speaking of which, you said leading up to the special that you shared a lot of tea, just when you thought there was no more tea to spill.
Yes. It’s true.
Is that a typical feeling you get after every special or book? Like “I don’t have anything else to share right now.”
Yeah. It can happen. With this special, I had 90 minutes of material towards the end. So I had to keep just editing and editing and editing. I’m like “Okay, what is necessary here to move the story from point A to point B?” So after this, I have another half hour of material that I didn’t end up using that I’m going to reuse now for the next one. So it kind of always works out like that.
Are you working on the new hour now on the road?
Yeah. I have a Vegas residency so I perform there every month. And then I’m doing a European tour. So I’m doing 13 cities over there. I’m probably going to take it easy on touring this year. Maybe do some light touring in the States at the end of the year. I’ll be running the new hour in Vegas. I mean, I already have my new hour. It’s just a matter of how many times I want to run it.
And with this special, is there a particular story that you’re the proudest of how it came together?
I mean, I don’t know if proud is the right word, but I love the story of the dog traveling to meet me from California to Maine, in the midst of the Cuomo and Bush compound. All of those stories just remind me of a funny, chaotic time. And my family bore witness to all of it. So it was even better, because my family - who sometimes accuse me of exaggerating about them when they’re not in on the joke - they know all of those things that happened is real. And it’s like “See? I wasn’t exaggerating you guys. This is all true stuff!”
Now you just had your 7th book come out. Tell me about your writing process when you’re working on books versus stand-up and how you approach it.
I approach that with “What do I have to say?” Is there something new that I can share? How can I share it? Obviously everyone has an evolution. Mine has been very public. What people I think rely on me for is my truth and my honesty, whether if it’s flattering or unflattering, positive or negative. I’m okay to share that. And I think that’s why people can relate to me so much. Even though I do live in this rarified world and have this rarified life. I’m not afraid to spill it and talk about it.
So every time I’m writing, my writing and my objective is to make people laugh and make people think and inspire people and injecting optimism into people who get stuck and don’t lift themselves up. It’s about sisterhood, really. So that’s when I went in there displaying how I have found sisterhood and how it has found me and the people in my life who have impacted me and the people who’s lives I’ve been able to impact.
And I’m sure there’s nothing more rewarding than getting to hear that feedback, especially with a new book.
Yeah. I mean, finding out you’re number one on The NY Times Best Sellers list has happened with my last six books. This is the sixth book that that’s happened. And that call will never get old. That is the best phone call that you can get. Especially for someone who never graduated from college.
And is there something you get out of writing a book that is different than what you get out of doing stand-up? And vice versa.
The stand-up is amazing is because of the people that you’re able to impact. I love looking out into an audience and seeing two strangers hysterically laughing next to each other. That gives me the vibes that I want to give out. I want that togetherness and I want that hilarity and outrageousness. I think with writing, it’s more permanent. When you’re putting something to paper, it’s there forever. And it’s more introspective and more thoughtful. It’s more of a medium where you can really inject people with your honesty and your bravery and inspire others to do the same.
So I think writing is more of an avenue to be real, authentic, and hilarious, but also meaningful and profound. Whereas stand-up can be those things, but you’re looking for laughter every few seconds. So there is a different art to both things.
Is there more pressure with writing a book because it’s permanent?
The pressure doesn’t come with the writing. The pressure comes with the scheduling. The performing and the traveling. I’m a creative. I can create endlessly. It’s the act of being at all these places and doing all these things. That takes more of a toll and feels more pressure than the act.