Chelsea Handler Talks Weed, Tucker Carlson and Politics Ahead of SeriesFest Headliner

The more some people say they are happy, the less likely you are to believe them. But when Chelsea Handler, speaking from her California home, says that she's happy, you can sense the genuine smile behind her voice. The talented comedian and six-time New York Times best-selling author definitely has a lot to be happy about: She has built a long and lucrative career making people laugh, she has strong friendships, she reads good books and she smokes good weed.

Then there's her upcoming tour, Little Big Bitch. And soon she'll headline SeriesFest at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. "I've never been to Red Rocks!" Handler says. "My first time will be there on stage. I can't wait."

That's not all Handler is happy about. We're speaking the morning after Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson was fired, and she's nothing short of ebullient.

"I think it's great that Fox had to actually take some responsibility for the lies that they perpetuate and misleading the American public. I just can't imagine your job being to lie and mislead everybody. I was very excited by the news," Handler says. After it broke, she uploaded a video to Instagram in celebration. "It was very hard for me to record that video, though, because I was very stoned when I did it," she admits.

Handler's work has always ticked off men like Carlson, who in February dedicated a segment of his now- canceled show to deriding a short video Handler had made about not having children. But Handler only finds hilarity in such reactions. "I consider that a huge victory," she says with a laugh. "Whenever these men talk about me, I love it; I can't get enough of it. The idea that a man can argue with you about your state of happiness, men telling us that we're not happy — oh, my God, it's so absurd and so rich to argue with us about our state of mind. I never even said I was happy! So it's like, 'Oh, you're right, I am happy! Thank you for reminding me!' I'm not miserable enough to be sitting around bitching about myself!"

That's because she's too busy enjoying the fruits of her labor, and the labor itself. Handler likes to relax by reading (she just finished Hello Beautiful and is now tackling kiss my jagged face as well as an American history book). She also loves to partake in a joint or one of her THC-infused drinks that she developed in partnership with Leisuretown, especially before workouts — or making Instagram videos.

"I don't know what the strains are," she admits. "I just smoke whatever joint is around. I always take a couple of puffs before I work out. And then yesterday my day ended around 2 p.m., and I was like, 'Oh, I'd better smoke a joint,' and then I just kept getting everybody saying, 'You've got to record something about Tucker.' So then I had to really sit and write out what I was gonna say and then send it to my social media team so they can edit it together and make it funnier."

Handler's always been open about her alcohol and drug use — her Netflix special Chelsea Does Drugs took viewers on her ayahuasca journey, and her comedy career was even kickstarted by a DUI. She'd long wanted to do comedy, but the run-in with the law launched her on stage.

"I wanted my voice to be heard, I felt like I had something to say, and somebody suggested that I do standup comedy. I was actually at DUI school, because I promptly got a DUI after I turned 21," she recalls. "When you go to DUI school, they make you get up and talk about your DUI experience, you know, kind of to shame you into never doing it again. And I got up, and my story ended up being really funny, because I called the cop racist. Meanwhile, we were both white. I had to spend 72 hours in Sybil Brand, an L.A. County women's prison, which is a shit show. You're in this room with like 400 bunk beds, and you're just trying to get out of there, you know? Oh, my God, you're scared to go to the bathroom. People are trading tampons for sandwiches. I mean, it's just like a hallucinogenic experience.

"I talked about it, and so of course everybody was laughing, because the story just got more and more ridiculous. And when I got off stage, people were like, 'You should do standup comedy.' And I thought, 'Oh, God, that sounds terrible,' and then I was like, 'Well, maybe I should do that. Me with a microphone and no one else interrupting me?'" she laughs. "It sounded kind of perfect. And so I did it, and then it ended up being the best decision of my life."

A decision that's taken her around the world — and Handler has nothing but good things to say about Colorado, especially when it comes to the state passing legislation to legalize psychedelic mushrooms and other natural psychedelics. Would she take ’shrooms while she's here, though?

"Well, yeah, I'm always on something," she jokes. "Colorado is just one of the best states, honestly. Now they just have to make advancements on gun control. Colorado is probably one of the leading states in terms of progressiveness."

However, there are some people in Colorado she has no good words for — namely, Lauren Boebert. When Handler took over hosting The Daily Show for several episodes earlier this year, she texted a producer to tell her what she wanted to cover.

"I was like, 'Listen, I'm gonna definitely need to go off on Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert; I can't get through the week without focusing on them,'" Handler recalls. "And I'm like, 'I want to get into it, not just be politically correct about my indictment of either one of those. Tucker Carlson and Elon Musk and all these people, I just want to go off on them.'"

Handler doesn't have any qualms telling off similar people who believe comedy is going by the wayside because of "woke" audiences, either. "I think people are talking about being politically correct, and then the natural evolution of comedy," she notes. "Comedy has changed, sensibilities have changed. This generation of comedians are nicer. They're not as sarcastic. It's not all insults comedy, and at first I was like, 'Oh, wait, this isn't my style.' And then I was like, 'Oh, I like this style.' It's a generation thing, and I like that.

"And then the people that are complaining about being politically correct are just lazy," she continues. "You can't deal with having strong parameters in the protection of people who feel discriminated against? If you have a problem with that, then you should really think about why."

While she's never been one to cloak her politics, Handler says that she won't be dedicating much time to the subject on her Little Big Bitch tour or SeriesFest.

"I don't bother getting into political stuff. I want people to have a good time when they see me and forget about the madness that we live in," she explains. "There's always some little overtures about how I feel or, you know, being more tolerant, less discriminatory. But no, this is just to make people laugh and remind people that sitting next to a stranger laughing is a beautiful thing. And let's remember that, as well as a reminder of our humanity and togetherness. Especially after COVID, everybody's so weirded out, scarred and PTSD. It's very important to me, and I take it quite seriously as a comedian to bring joy and laughter during a time when people feel this way."

And it'll be all laughs when Handler headlines the closing night of SeriesFest on Wednesday, May 10, with special guests former SNL cast member Jay Pharoah and Adam Ray of The Heat. Handler remembers the days when she'd stop at Comedy Works on tour, and she has advice for burgeoning Denver comics: "Make rejection a good friend of yours. Don't let it get you down."

Meanwhile, nothing will keep Handler from speaking her truth — and making people laugh while she does so.

"Comedy has led to so many different avenues for me, and all while remaining completely in charge of my career and my life; no one tells me what to do, and no one ever has. Obviously, there's a lot of white privilege involved in there, too, and other things," Handler says. "But I've always remained very true to who I am, with a lot of intention to do so, and not lose my marbles and just remain grounded, to remain close to my family, to remain real and true. Because as soon as you're not telling the truth, that's pretty transparent — even though people seem to be very attracted to non-truth tellers right now. It's very timeless to just be an honest person, especially in a sea of dishonesty."

SeriesFest runs Friday, May 5, through Wednesday, May 10; Handler performs at 6:30 p.m. May 10, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 18300 West Alameda Parkway, Morrison. Tickets start at $48; find more SeriesFest events on its website.