So it shocked everyone when Handler quit her show, finishing up in August. Handler admits she was ready for a change.
"I was bored with my show and I was bored with me. I wanted to do something more thought-invoking and more interesting if I was going to continue working, and I wanted a break from celebrities and from my job, so I quit."
She didn't exactly take it easy. Handler spent her free time travelling. That turned into a book about travelling, called Uganda Be Kidding Me.
Chelsea Handler is featured on the cover of this week's TimeOut:
Now, she's travelling again as she tours the live show in support of the book.
"I've been going everywhere and anywhere they'll let me in. In the last two months, I've been all through southern Spain, Madrid, Shanghai, French Polynesia, where my friends and I went scuba diving with sharks. That was beyond amazing. This week I leave for Santiago and then the Amazon, so I can start to face my fear of snakes. I hate snakes. I hate them bad."
She also signed a deal with TV streaming service Netflix, although details about what exactly that will be are sketchy. She hopes it will mean more travelling.
"It will hopefully involve a lot of me bopping around the world because there are a lot of stories I want to tell. And lots of foreign men I'd like to have sex with," she jokes.
And she'll make her way to Auckland at the end of the month for a one-off show at the ASB Theatre.
For someone as outlandish as Handler, she admits she gets her fair share of hecklers at her shows. Her favourite heckle was from her dad, who once blurted out, "Tell that punchline again, Chels. I was in the bathroom".
But she's got a stern warning for anyone attempting to disrupt her Auckland show: you will pay.
"I get people who've had too much to drink, but if you're coming to my show, it's a pretty safe bet that no one paid good money to hear you talk to me. A heckler is just ruining the experience everyone else paid to have. And, then they're usually removed, so it's kind of a waste of a night for them.
"They probably should have just gone bowling and yelled at a bowling ball."
Handler says fans should expect bad taste stories over traditional stand-up comedy. And she swears everything she says really happened.
"All the stories I tell are true and they all usually come from a place of deep self-effacement and physical recklessness. Stand-up is a chance to talk freely about yourself and in my case, not focus on celebrity or gossip. It is my story, my life, my shame, and me I have to deal with.
"I have no issue with being the butt of a joke and think it's rather important to do it, after spending seven years making everyone else a target."
Handler on ...
...Coming to New Zealand for the first time: "I have always wanted to come, so I had to think of a creative way to do it. Since I don't know anyone there, I'm hoping I'll meet some strangers at the show who will take me to their home and feed and bathe me."
...Being a female in the male-dominated world of late-night talk shows: "I've always remained focused on what I was doing and not comparing myself with other late-night hosts. To me, it was never the same kind of show, and to worry about what other people are doing only takes away from your performance and self-confidence. You have to be your biggest supporter, which is hard when you're constantly annoyed by your own voice."
...Her best memories of Chelsea Lately: "My favourite was three shower scenes I did with Ellen [DeGeneres], Sandy [Sandra Bullock], and Conan [O'Brien]. I loved doing those and bouncing around naked in a shower with someone else. It's my favorite kind of stupidity."
.. On friendly vs fiery interviews: "I don't care either way. I always love a little combat, but not when it's provoked by me. I don't like to stir the pot without cause; I prefer a stirred pot to present itself to me."
Who: Chelsea Handler
Where and when: Live comedy show Uganda Be Kidding Me, ASB Theatre, Auckland, November 29
Also: Latest book, Uganda Be Kidding Me, out now
- TimeOut
