 | | Chelsea Handler on "The Late Late Show with James Corden" in June.Ella DeGea/CBS, via Getty Images |
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"Words are powerful, especially for someone like me who has a very big mouth." |
— Chelsea Handler, a comedian |
It's been hard finding ways to laugh about the past year. But Chelsea Handler is giving it a shot: The female comic just kicked off her new standup tour, "Vaccinated and Horny," and has been thinking a lot about the role comedians can play as the pandemic and racial reckonings have pushed so many to the brink. |
On a recent episode of The New York Times Opinion podcast "Sway," Ms. Handler spoke to Kara Swisher, a Times Opinion writer, about how cancel culture is reshaping the boundaries of comedy, how she's gotten over her aversion to apologizing and what happened to the old gatekeepers of comedy. |
"We're having a social justice and racial justice movement. So there's tons to play with and tons to talk about. And we're all kind of saying goodbye to so many of the things that we're so accustomed to doing," she said. |
The conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. You can listen to the full interview here, or wherever you find your podcasts. |
On Comedy and Cancel Culture |
The culture has changed during the pandemic, too. It's more aware, more sensitive. There are more issues around cancel culture. At the same time, it's become more coarse, in a lot of ways, how we speak to each other. Are you putting guardrails on your comedy when you go back out? |
I like some parameters. I like for some people to lay down some laws for me so that you can find the chaos within it, and be creative about what you are exploiting and what you are making fun of. What is the moment that we're living in? And we're having a social justice and racial justice movement, so there's tons to play with and tons to talk about. And we're all kind of saying goodbye to so many of the things that we're so accustomed to doing. Having to say goodbye to words that you used to think were OK. Having to say goodbye to phrases and ways to describe things that you think were OK. Having to say goodbye to men for a while because they're on probation. |
And until they've proven to us that there are more good ones than bad ones, there's one big group we're still able to make fun of, and that's white guys who don't seem to be getting the message of the movement that's happening. I'm single, so I deal with a lot of straight men who don't seem to understand that — either get on the bus or you're going to miss it. |
How do you reflect on things you've said in the past? Because you've said some racially offensive things in the past. You tweeted a joke at the Oscars about how Angelina Jolie was filing adoption paperwork for Lupita Nyong'o. So how do you look at certain jokes that you used to tell? Would you not tell them now? |
Listen, there's an evolution with everybody. And the problem with a lot of these men that have been canceled is they're not sincerely apologizing. My therapy, my whole thing, has been on public record. I'm not pretending or faking or saying, "Oh, I'm sorry," after the fact. I actually have had an evolution. I do want to be kinder and gentler. I want my jokes to not be reflective of a time in my life that I wasn't aware of how they impact people. Words are powerful, especially for someone like me who has a very big mouth. People that do that, you can forgive them, you do understand. That Chrissy Teigen situation: She admitted her bad behavior. She said, "I'm really sorry." And that's what we should all be doing when confronted with anything we've done — is say, "I'm sorry. Thank you for letting me know. I'm going to do better." Period. End of story. |
I don't think your outrageousness, as a comedian, has to come from something that's going to get you in trouble. You can be outrageous within the confines of not offending other people. The thing about being a comedian is you have a very strong point of view and that's why people come to see you. So, that's where the good stuff is going to happen. |
On the Gatekeepers of Comedy |
Technology has been disrupting comedy in a lot of ways. There's more discovery and things like that, but who do you look at as the gatekeepers — like late night TV used to be, or comedy clubs? If you were just starting right now, how would you look at the scene as an up-and-coming comic? |
Yeah, it doesn't feel like that's the scene anymore. First of all, you can't get away with people being gatekeepers in that way right now. That's not the tone of what's happening. When I was coming up, people would yell at you, "You can't perform here." Or, give you bad feedback, like, "You're too pretty to be a comedian; you should get your breasts reduced, that will make people take you more seriously." Stupid stuff like that, you can't say. I once had a woman tell me I should get a breast reduction if I wanted to do stand-up. I was like, "What?" |
I just announced this tour, and I went straight to my agents and said, "Find me a bunch of undiscovered people to have open for me." I want to be bridging the gap and giving newcomers a new experience. And I feel like that's what we're all doing. Hire people of color whenever you can; have a person of color open for you. |
I was on a plane the other day, and a guy asked if he could open for me, and I wanted be like, "Sir, I don't have men open for me, OK? I'm a woman supporting women, not men." But, I didn't. I kept that to myself because I've been to therapy, and I was able to shut my mouth. |
Here are three articles from The Times you may have missed. |
 | | Beth Pascall was the first woman to cross the finish line in the Western States 100-mile race in Auburn, Calif., in late June, coming in seventh overall.Jubilee Paige |
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- "It's a powerful story." Half of the top ultramarathon runners at this year's Western State 100-mile race, which requires equal parts physical and mental fortitude, were women. [Read the story]
- "Digital strip search." Britain requires victims reporting sex crimes to give the police full access to their phone data, social media accounts, school records and even therapists' notes. It can be traumatizing for victims. [Read the story]
- "I am not a political operative, I am a physician." Michelle Fiscus, a top Tennessee vaccine official, says she was fired over shots for teens. [Read the story]
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In Her Words is edited by Francesca Donner. Our art director is Catherine Gilmore-Barnes, and our photo editor is Maura Foley. |
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