Chelsea Handler has never hosted “Saturday Night Live,” despite being tapped by producers twice. And after her interview on HuffPost Live on Thursday, she might never again get the chance.
“They said, ‘You’re gonna host,” Handler said. “They’re gonna hate that I’m talking about this right now, but I really don’t have a problem with that. So they said, ‘Oh, we have to have you host.’ My agent called, he said, ‘You’re hosting ‘SNL’. They’re gonna give you a date in the fall.’ And then it never happened.”
“SNL” turned to Handler a second time after she published her book “Uganda Be Kidding Me” but blew her off again, according to the comedian.
“I said, ‘OK, great. Well, they blew me off last time, I don’t know what the issue was.’ And I think the thing I heard was something like…the writers have a problem anytime we bring on a comedian, which is complete nonsense. I mean, Sarah [Silverman]’s hosted, Lena Dunham hosted it.”
“Uganda Be Kidding Me” didn’t spawn an “SNL” hosting gig but it did lead to multi-project deal with Netflix. And that’s good enough for Handler.
“I mean, I’m really, really happy right now,” Handler said. “To the point where I’m waiting for something to happen. I’m like, bouncing-off-the-walls happy.”
Handler makes her Netflix debut on Friday with the release of her standup special, “Uganda Be Kidding Me Live.” As is always the case with Handler, no topic is off limits when it comes to telling a joke.
Also read: Chelsea Handler’s Dog Is a Lion King in Teaser for Netflix Comedy Special (Photo)
“If I’m in a good mood, I can make anything funny, in my opinion,” Handler said.
That includes bad breakups, one of which caused a then 23-year-old Handler a great deal of misery after her British boyfriend broke up with her. She claims that the split gave her the material that made her become a better comedian.
Composing art out of a failed relationship is exactly what made Handler’s good friend Adele an international superstar. Handler confessed on Thursday that she and the musician are still extremely close.
See video: Chelsea Handler Says She’s Quitting ‘Chelsea Lately’ to Get Away From the Kardashians (Video)
“We’re very, very tight,” Handler said. “That’s actually my baby that she has. I was just the surrogate. I have claim to the baby.”
After hosting her late-night talk show “Chelsea Lately” on E! for seven years, Handler is breaking out of the traditional format and going on the road for her Netflix series, with some possible outings including a NASCAR event or the NBA Draft. She explained that she wants to ask the questions normal people are too proud to.
“People are a little embarrassed to be really stupid,” Handler said. “Luckily, I don’t have that problem. I can ask stupid questions.”
Watch the full interview in the video below.