Chelsea Handler is kind of on a roll right now. She just hosted the 28th Annual Critics Choice Awards, released a Netflix special called Revolution last month, is set to guest host upcoming episodes of The Daily Show (with rumors of her becoming the full time host) and announced a new tour this week!
The comedian’s first time hosting the Critics Choice Awards went swimmingly. She started the show off with a bang in a fiery-hued dress and a sharpened pen to match, then eased into her monologue with the topic of abortion rights when she joked, “I’m just happy to be here tonight supporting the critics’ right to choose. At least someone has a choice…unless they’re a female critic and then it depends on what state they live in.”
Much of the rest of her monologue focused on giving praises to just a few of the many notable women there. Viola Davis, Julia Roberts, Cate Blanchett, Niecy Nash-Betts, and Michelle Pfeiffer all had the spotlight on them during Handler’s speech, and everyone looked to be in great spirits.
By all accounts, Handler smashed her hosting gig for this year’s Critics Choice Awards, and she’s not stopping there. The comedian is still getting a lot of buzz for her upcoming role as guest host of The Daily Show, even mentioning on The View that she was “open” to the role becoming a full-time position.
Late-night television is a historically toxic boy’s club, so it would be a huge breath of fresh air to have another woman chipping away at that white-men-named-Jimmy-ceiling.
Another win for the comedian: Handler’s latest Netflix special Revolution just came out this past December and is getting good reviews.
Her special seems like the perfect culmination of a public journey of awareness following the Trump election. The comedian has been very vocal about her disdain for the former President and has built a body of work dedicated to unpacking the social sludge (and we’re talking nasty, putrid, gurgly sludge) that led to his election. From her 2016 four-part series titled Chelsea Does, to her 2019 documentary Hello, Privilege. It’s Me, Chelsea, to this most recent special, it feels like we’ve been watching the comedian consistently level-up and reckon with her own privilege over the past few years.
Revolution, which is streaming now on Netflix, gives us a glimpse into what’s to come from Handler, and it’s good. It seems the comedian has hit that sweet spot of funny and poignant–guiding her audiences to a new understanding of the way the world can be unfair while still making us laugh. And she just announced the Little Big Bitch tour on her Instagram this week!
We are looking forward to seeing what else Handler has up her sleeve for the near future. Watch her latest special now on Netflix, catch her hosting a few (and maybe more?) upcoming episodes of The Daily Show, and visit her website for upcoming tour dates and tix!
Top image from Instagram @chelseahandler Photo by: Todd Owyoung/NBC, Hair by: @benskervin, Makeup by @miajonesmua, Styling by @molly_levin
