Chelsea Handler has a new book out, as well as a stand-up special and a Las Vegas residency this year. “I take a lot of pride in my New Jersey hustle,” she said. Photo / Bethany Mollenkof, The New York Times
Chelsea Handler has a new book out, as well as a stand-up special and a Las Vegas residency this year. “I take a lot of pride in my New Jersey hustle,” she said. Photo / Bethany Mollenkof, The New York Times
In her new book, I’ll Have What She’s Having, the comedian dishes on life lessons, breakups and being denied a tryst with Andrew Cuomo.
Comedian Chelsea Handler is unapologetic in her latest book, I’ll Have What She’s Having. Well, of course, she is. She’s Chelsea Handler, and that’s always kindof been her thing.
There are many of the stories you would expect from the former host of the E! show Chelsea Lately in her seventh book, which came out last month, such as confronting rudeness in men, shamelessly propositioning Andrew Cuomo for sex when he was Governor of New York and ruthlessly pushing out a business partner for a lemonade stand. (She was 10 at the time.)
But Handler also weaves in more life advice, a healthy dose of cheerleading (both for the reader and herself) and insights gained from therapy and various breakups.
The book includes chapters about her very public relationship with comedian Jo Koy, but fans looking for the details of the breakup will be disappointed: she doesn’t say much, and mostly speaks well of Koy. A sign of growth, she says.
“While I am sure that is of interest to people, I will no longer throw someone I once loved under a bus,” Handler writes. “My sharing what exactly went wrong in our relationship would negate all the work I have done on myself while also creating a headline I don’t want to create.”
The main takeaways: She’s 50. She’s hustling. There’s a Netflix special coming later this month, and a residency in Las Vegas. And she’s sure of herself. That’s all she needs, and she’s finally realised it. In an interview, Handler discussed the new book and the newish Chelsea.
This conversation has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
Q: You note that you essentially make a living being yourself. Does that mean you’re never off the clock?
A: I don’t think it means I’m never off the clock. It just means that I’m never not being really authentic. And to be able to make a living by expressing myself and my true feelings feels like a big victory.
Q: How are you different now compared to when you first rose to fame?
A: A lot less arrogant, a lot more grateful, a lot more self-aware. And I don’t complain about working hard any more. I used to crash and burn and want to quit my job. Now I understand how important the breaks are and that the breaks are as important as the work.
Q: In 2022, you said you would like to come back to late night. How do you feel about it now?
A: I’ve never been presented with the right opportunity. I was really interested in doing The Daily Show, and then that didn’t happen for me. So then after that, I just thought, it’s hard to launch a show. I would love to do what Bill Maher does. Once a week. Or John Oliver. I think I’ve proven time and time again that that is my wheelhouse and that is a strength of mine. But until I’m presented with the right opportunity for that, I’m not really chasing that dream.
Q: You described your relationship with Jo Koy as true love. Without getting into details about why it ended, when it was at its best, how much did that make you rethink your stance on marriage, if at all?
A: I have considered marriage many times in my life, including within that relationship. But the consideration of marriage and actually pulling the trigger are two different things. I’ve been proposed to a couple of times, and then I ended those relationships shortly after the proposal because I realised, “Oh, we’re not on the same page.” So it brings in the consideration when you’re deeply in love with somebody. But it doesn’t change my ideology about life.
Handler’s new book, I’ll Have What She’s Having, includes some classic Chelsea stories but also weaves in more life advice and reflection. Photo / Bethany Mollenkof, The New York Times
Q: In the book, you spent some time talking about Andrew Cuomo, and you said you dodged a bullet when he ghosted you on your – uh, let’s call it a proposition. As someone who was rather taken with him, what do you think about his attempt to make a comeback in New York and run for mayor?
A: I mean, why not? He’d probably be a great mayor and he’ll hopefully stand up to Donald Trump. You know, unlike our current mayor in New York, Eric Adams. He wasn’t a terrible governor. He was just kind of old-school, old-fashioned, wasn’t really up to speed on how to treat people in an office setting, it sounded like. And a little bit, you know, predatory behaviour.
Unfortunately, that predatory behaviour was not directed at me even when it was requested. So I can’t speak for him in a professional environment, but I hope that he got the message loud and clear, which I think he did. That was a pretty big cancellation, but I would be supportive of him running for mayor.
Q: Why is Andrew Cuomo able to run again?
A: We’re in a different situation, now that Trump is back in office. I think cancellations are probably going to be waning, if not already have waned. I think that their standards are lower than they were in the last few years. People can argue that that’s a good thing or that’s a bad thing. I don’t think respecting people and respecting people’s boundaries is a bad thing. So I didn’t really have a problem with cancel culture.
But conversely, I also think no one is unrecoverable and everyone deserves a chance once they have admitted their wrongdoing and actually applied some remorse to the situation and taken steps to prevent it from happening again and learning about what’s appropriate and what’s not, I think everybody deserves a second chance.
Wait, wait, wait. Maybe not everybody. But most people.
Q: You once told The Guardian that you didn’t want to work your whole life. That you wanted to live on an island and drink margaritas all day by 40. How do you view work now?
A: I was very naive when I said that. I was thinking about that very quote – because I said it more than once – the other day, thinking: “Wow. I’m 50 and I’m working harder and hustling harder than I ever have.” But yes, I still feel the same way. I would love to go live on an island and just drink margaritas forever, but it’s really not within my nature. I am a hustler. I take a lot of pride in my New Jersey hustle.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
