Chelsea Handler, who headlines a benefit gig tonight, may not be taking over the world, but she seems to be in charge of a nice-sized chunk of it these days. Chelsea Lately, her nightly E! talk show, which finds her dishing about celebrity foibles and other insanity with undisguised glee, has become a cult favorite, and her two essay collections, 2005s My Horizontal Life and this years Are You There, Vodka? Its Me, Chelsea, hit many a best-seller list thanks to the amusingly blunt way she over-shares about boozing, bed-hopping and intestinal distress the latter covered in a Horizontal chapter titled Skid Marks.
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If I had to say, Is there something I wish I hadnt written about?, well, thats not something Im too excited about my boyfriends parents reading, she con-cedes. Thats why I tell them the books are out of print.
Even many of Handlers fans feel shes got a cruel streak. Still, she doesnt see herself as mean in part because she targets herself, too. If youre going to make fun of other people, you have to start with making fun of yourself, she maintains. And if youre okay with doing that, it kind of gives you carte blanche to make fun of anybody else.
Handler signs Vodka at the Tattered Cover LoDo, 1628 16th Street (www.tatteredcover.com, 303-436-1070) tonight at 5 p.m., then headlines a fundraiser for New Genesis, a transitional community for the homeless, at 8 p.m. at the Paramount Theatre, 1621 Glenarm Place. Tickets are $35 to $75, with special $500 VIP passes available. Learn more at 303-623-0106 or www.tickethorse.com and read an extended Q&A with Handler at blogs.westword.com/latestword.
Sat., Oct. 18, 8 p.m., 2008