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Daily Dish: Chelsea Handler takes comic aim at Hollywood
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Published: August 28, 2008
HOLLYWOOD
From her gossipy late-night perch on E! Entertainment Television, Chelsea Handler routinely mouths off about Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie and almost everyone else in and around the gates of the Hollywood industrial complex. And typically the host of Chelsea Lately does so without incurring threats of bodily harm.
Then she took on the Jonas Brothers, the heartthrob boy band from New Jersey. In a recent sketch, which can be found on YouTube, Handler mocks the band's masculinity, their mismatched hair and their "purity rings" (symbolizing the pop stars' pledge not to have premarital sex). Later in the bit, Handler manhandles one of the brothers' imitators -- shoving her chest in his face and offering him carnal delights.
Legions of outraged Jonas Brothers devotees unleashed their wrath. "Chelsea Handler can go die in a whole! (sic)," read one missive directed at her. Some merely called her names, and others were more specific -- suggesting that Handler die sooner rather than later.
The group's publicist weighed in, albeit more respectfully, threatening to withdraw the cable network's access to the brothers, Miley Cyrus and other Disney Channel mega-stars, Handler said.
"‘Go die in a whole' -- I mean, really, it doesn't get better than that," Handler said. "We were all laughing so hard in the office. It's a lesson on why we have this show in the first place."
Brandishing wicked humor with a wide smile, Handler, 33, delights in mocking the shallowness of Hollywood while embracing its tackiness. Since its premiere a little more than a year ago, Chelsea Lately has evolved into a Tinseltown version of The Daily Show With Jon Stewart and is one of E!'s top daily series, averaging more than a half-million viewers each weeknight.
Her show, which airs opposite The Tonight Show With Jay Leno and Late Show With David Letterman at 11:30 weeknights, enters a crowded realm of Hollywood gossip shows but jumps enthusiastically into a daily pile of tabloid headlines, often from network companion E! News.
The dirt is dished with a revolving panel of comedians and her sidekick, a 4-foot-3-inch gentleman named Chuy, whom she lovingly refers to as "my little hot tamale."
Throughout the show's banter and interviews with guests -- who usually hail from cable or reality series -- one of Handler's biggest targets is herself. She pokes fun at her eating habits and her penchant for sex and vodka.
"I certainly hope this is not the pinnacle, but things are certainly the best they've ever been for me," said Handler, whose stand-up career has spanned more than 10 years. "It seems like all my ducks are going in the right direction. I just hope they don't drink too much Grey Goose on the way -- like their owner."
The show has propelled Handler ever higher in the entertainment pecking order and paved the way for additional projects, including a best-selling memoir and TV deals. Handler's Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea debuted at No. 1 on The New York Times' nonfiction best-seller list.
The book is a series of hilarious, disconnected memories that cleverly straddles the absurd. Producer-director Barry Sonnenfeld is in final negotiations to turn the book about growing up, family and dating into a TV series.
Meanwhile, on weekends, Handler is drawing standing-room-only crowds at her comedy concerts. A recent Vanity Fair cover story singling out the funniest women on the comedy scene placed Handler alongside Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Wanda Sykes and Sarah Silverman.
And although Handler makes vicious fun of E! programming, biting the hand that feeds her hasn't hurt her personal life. Her boyfriend is E! Entertainment Television head Ted Harbert, a veteran TV executive who has held top posts at ABC and NBC. It's a relationship that she frequently jokes about on her show. Pictures of the couple hugging and smiling hang in her dressing room.
"For other people, it may be awkward, but it's certainly not for us," she said. "The minute you see us, it's clear what we're about -- it's a very playful relationship."
Other than managing issues related to broadcast standards or legal issues, Harbert said, he is detached from Handler's show.
"I recuse myself from dealing with Chelsea's salary, the business dealings," he said. But he is undeniably proud of the series' success and claims not to cringe when she makes fun of other E! shows. "I know exactly what E! is. You have to get some fun out of it."
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