Chelsea Handler Says Losing Bladder Control on Set is Just Another Day in the Life
She’s the bitingly sarcastic late-night talk show host who won her way into American living rooms with her distinct “I-don’t-give-a-fuck” attitude. Now she is taking on the world as the first ever global talk show host, with her eponymously titled show slated for a 90-episode second season on Netflix in 2017.
Growing up was a bit of a mess. My parents were very disorganized with three boys and three girls and I learned quickly that I was going to have to make my own life outside of my family. At the age of 3, I was basically like a 35-year-old. Conversely, I was really spoiled by my brothers and my sisters so maybe I just wanted that attention to keep going for the rest of my life. Either way I knew I wanted my voice to be heard.
To me, there was no other option than to come out to Los Angeles and become famous. I got in one show, and then I got a book deal, and then I got a TV show, and then I was on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” doing standup. The combination of my second book and my show on E!, “Chelsea Lately,” mushroomed into a big ol’ career.
I didn’t get really famous until my early 30s, and by that time I had already pretended I was famous since I was little, so it didn’t even make that much of a difference. I don’t get nervous in front of the camera unless I’m running around on a beach, like, “Oh no, I don’t want any pictures of my ass out there.”
I think you have to listen to your voice, your intuition and your instinct. That’s what makes someone excel at doing comedy—it’s being specific to who you are. Everything has always kind of been experiential for me. I like to go out and try something: Either I get better at it or I give up. If I get really good at it I give up anyway because I’m like “All right I did that, let’s move on to the next thing.” I definitely have ADD.
Right now I’m living one of my biggest achievements, having the first ever global talk show. 190 countries, that’s pretty huge. It’s nice to be able to change the conversation from being the only woman in late night to being the first person ever to have a global talk show. I was ready for [“Chelsea Lately”] to end. I wanted it to end so I finally just made it happen. It was great because I got a lot of time to really enjoy myself and travel.