Comedian Chelsea Handler believes there needs to be a shift in the landscape of late-night programming.
Variety spoke with Handler as part of a photoshoot amid her “Vaccinated and Horny” tour.
The outlet noted Handler became a household name after hosting her own late-night talk show titled, “Chelsea Lately” from 2007 to 2014.
“I need to get back in because where are the women? Every head of every network should be ashamed that they haven’t given a female a talk show,” Handler explained.
She added, “The fact that Samantha Bee is no longer on the air is unacceptable to me.”
Handler shared with Variety that the landscape “doesn’t look optimistic.”
The comedian continued, “Talk shows are a dying art, and there has to be a new iteration of them. They’re not fresh. They’re stale. I don’t know what the answer is. But I’m definitely willing to be part of the solution.”
She suggested it “doesn’t have to be five nights a week. Ideally, it would be once a week. But it depends. Nobody gives a sh*t about watching celebrities be interviewed over and over again every night. They care about the monologue.”
On how her show would be different, Handler said, “It has to be joyful,” adding, “Everything is white and old and boring.”
Additionally, Handler commented on the issue of cancel culture among comedians.
“You can still be funny without being sexist or racist. That’s not a tall order,” Handler said.
Offering her advice, she told the outlet, “Don’t discriminate against people that are marginalized. That’s it. Those are the only parameters. And so, everyone could stop bitching and complaining about it.”
Variety pointed out Handler received her first Grammy nomination in 2021 for best comedy album, “Evolution.”
Louis C.K. defeated her in the end.
He previously admitted to sexual misconduct, as Variety noted.
When asked about his win, Handler said, “I mean, I would have preferred to lose to someone that I love a lot — like Kevin Hart.”
Handler suggested it would have been better if he had taken responsibility for what he had done.
“If Louis has done that, that’s great. I really don’t know if he has. But to pretend that you haven’t done anything when what you did was repeatedly wrong is not okay. It just shows you that old white guys are in charge. And that’s it,” Handler said.
