Chelsea Handler gave an interview to the New York Times a few days ago, and I just now got a chance to skim it. It’s written in an odd way… like, I find the NYT interviewer WAY more annoying than I find Chelsea, and usually she’s the one who plucks my last nerve. I don’t know if Chelsea was drunk or hungover or she was just over the super-solicitous reporter, but Chelsea seemed different in this piece. Not nicer or less bitchy, she just explains her point of view in a more interesting way than I’ve heard from her. Of course, it becomes clear that Chelsea is totally over the E! gig. She wants to do movies. She wants to have a show on HBO. She thinks she’s a star! Oh, how much would I love to see Chelsea fall flat when she tries to branch out? Mean? Sure. Whatever. The full piece is an interesting read if you like crappy journalism, and you can read it here. Here are some highlights from the piece:

Handler on her relationship with André Balazs, and whether she’ll ever use him for comedy: “I won’t be doing that with André… [you draw the line] when they ask you to,” she said with a curt laugh. “No, he didn’t ask, but if somebody asks you not to speak about them — or make fun of them publicly, I should say — then you try to respect that. Obviously you can’t avoid that entirely, because I’m not a liar and I’m not going to lie about anything, really. But, yeah, I won’t be discussing our personal life — before, during or after our relationship.”

On being over her E! show: “There’s only so much of this nonsense you can talk about before your brain starts to feel like it’s bleeding,” she said.

She wanted to be an actress first, and now she’s doing movies, like a part with Reese Witherspoon in This Means War: “The fact that I did standup at all was that I was just out of ideas,” she said. And what she discovered doing standup was not only her voice, but that she liked being in control as well. “Nothing goes on the air or in the books that I don’t approve,” she said. “With every facet of everything, I’m in charge, and that’s the way I like it.” And did she think she needed acting classes to prepare for a movie?
Ms. Handler chuckled. “I don’t take it that seriously. You can act or you can’t. I’m sure a lot of people who are serious about acting would disagree, but I’m not really worried about them.”

On political correctness and abortions: “People are too P.C.,” she said. “We need to be focusing on other things. We’re seeking out such grossness in human behavior and want such mindless entertainment. ‘The Real Housewives of Atlanta’ and some of these other shows are more racist. Or ‘16 and Pregnant.’ Getting rewarded for being pregnant when you’re a teenager? Are you serious? I mean, that makes me want to kill somebody.” She continued: “I had an abortion when I was 16. Because that’s what I should have done. Otherwise I would now have a 20-year-old kid. Anyway, those are things that people shouldn’t be dishonest about it.”

On not being like Tina Fey: “I don’t know if I’m going to be what people call mainstream, ever,” she said. “My personality is just too obnoxious.”

A new show? She has been kicking around ideas for a show, she said, “one that has never been done before,” and indicated that it would be journalistic rather than a talk show. “I need to do it for my own.” (When I called her publicist, Stephen Huvane, later to ask if she was on the level, he said that she was but that it was too soon to discuss the details.) She told me: “If it’s not with NBC, then I’ll go to HBO or another channel. I’ll do whatever I want to do. I’m not discouraged at all anymore. [What convinces me that I can do it is]…my career. There’s hope for anything.” She glanced down at her lap. “One second — my alarm is going off.” She checked her messages. “Here’s Reese Witherspoon now,” she murmured, and then looked back at me.

[From The NY Times]

I chuckled a bit at “I don’t take it that seriously. You can act or you can’t. I’m sure a lot of people who are serious about acting would disagree, but I’m not really worried about them.” So, she didn’t take any acting classes, and she’s not worried about people criticizing her for being a bad actress. Good to know. I had forgotten that she was cast in that movie with Reese. Ugh. Now I’m totally not going to see it (it has Chris Pine in it too, who I cannot stand either).

Re: the abortion comment. She absolutely has a point. Didn’t think I would acknowledge it? I think Chelsea made the right choice for her, and it’s her prerogative and people should be honest about it. And I think our society is really screwed up with these teen pregnancy shows. It IS disgusting.

*Checks phone* Oh, that’s Clive Owen! JELLUS?!?

Photos courtesy of Fame.