Chelsea Handler is sitting on her sofa, smoking a joint and reading a book. It’s around 12:30 p.m. on a recent Thursday when a publicist connects us for a phone interview. Later, Handler will hop on a plane to fly to Spokane, Washington for two shows (a second was added after the first-sold out) on her latest stand-up comedy tour.

It’s good to be Chelsea Handler. One of the definitive comic voices of her generation, Handler’s smarts and swagger made her long-running late-night talk show “Chelsea Lately” must-see TV. The show’s female perspective was a refreshing change from late-night’s mostly white male hosts. Early in her career, she got her big break as a correspondent on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”

Handler’s also written best-selling books, including essay/story collections about her real life, like “Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea” and “My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands.” Her most recent stand-up special, “Chelsea Handler: Revolution,” hit Netflix in late 2022. Recent guests on her “Dear Chelsea” podcast include Matthew McConaughey and Brooke Shields. She has around 15 million social media followers on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok combined.

Because Handler’s a successful blonde who doesn’t give AF, it’s tempting to call her the Madonna of comedy. But she’s not that. She’s the Chelsea Handler of Chelsea Handler. Below are edited excerpts from my 20-minute phone conversation with Handler, a New Jersey native who resides in the Los Angeles area.

Chelsea, in your stand-up material this tour, what subjects do you get into?

Chelsea Handler: My childhood, my origin story, how I became the way that I am, and that I really was always like this even from a very young age. I tell a lot of my close-calls-with-celebrities stories — people like Bill Cosby, Woody Allen, Andrew Cuomo — and a few things in between. I always like to tell my dog stories. I have some pretty out-there dog stories since I treat my animals like … well, I don’t know how I treat them, but they have pretty nice lifestyles.

I can’t imagine you ever being nervous. But do you ever get nervous before the first show on a tour, or before each show starts? If not, is there something random that makes you nervous just in everyday life?

You know, I have a pretty solid attitude towards performing these days. What makes me nervous? It gets my blood running when I’m like on a mountain or in the backcountry or something that I don’t know that I can handle, that makes me nervous. [Note: Handler is an avid snow skier.] I’ve been doing this [stand-up comedy] for so many years. There’s always a level of adrenaline, but I wouldn’t quantify it as nerves at this point.

Your recent Netflix special was recorded at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. On this tour you’ve got shows in places like Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga and here in Huntsville, Alabama. Do think some performers underestimate Southern audiences before they’ve done shows here? Like that we’re all hayseeds or rednecks?

I mean, for a long time I think I felt that way. And then I went and did my first shows in like Louisville, Kentucky and on the last tour in Birmingham, Alabama. You are always surprised that your people are wherever you go. You know, that they’ll come and see you.

So it was a nice surprise for me and I definitely made an effort this time around to return. To be like, “Oh OK, there’s like-minded people everywhere you go.” So you don’t have to assume that the South is just filled with people who are Confederate soldiers. [Laughs]

Can you talk about the importance of getting more female hosts on late night TV?

Women are the only real people that can speak for women, so it doesn’t matter how many liberal-minded, with-it male talk show hosts there are. It’s not the same thing as being a woman.

It’s nice that people see the plight that women have endured or the discrimination and the marginalization. But that’s not enough. You need a woman talking about it. That’s why it’s important to have women in the front of everything and every medium discussing their experience.

I posted something on my Instagram account yesterday, there was a man talking about, “If you think you’re going to be 45, single and unmarried, I’ve got news for you, honey …” [Laughs] Like, are you f—ing kidding me? You’re trying to tell us what’s best for us? Like, it is beyond the pale, you know, and it’s so frustrating for women.

I’m sure many men are sick of hearing about it. But that just shows you how little you understand about what women have endured. And it’s not to say that I’ve endured all of this discrimination and bias. I don’t really care about myself. But it would be disrespectful on behalf of all women, for me not to address that this is an ongoing issue, and to represent.

You mentioned Instagram. How do you think social media has influenced your approach to comedy?

I think it’s been an advantage. I mean, I don’t really, you know, condone it like it’s a good thing that’s entered our ecosystem. I mean, it’s definitely mind numbing and we’re all getting dumber, but yet we’re all getting smarter because we have access to so much information. In terms of attention spans and people’s communication with each other, obviously, we’re not in a great spot as a human race.

But I think that you work it towards your advantage. Like, if you’re good at taking pictures in your bikini, do that. Or if you’re good at making political commentary videos like I do, do that. Or if you’re good at dancing then dance. It kind of gives everybody a vocation to augment whatever you stand for in the first place. So yeah, it’s definitely what everything is defined by right now.

Growing up, who were some performers that inspired you besides stand-up comics?

I wasn’t planning on becoming a stand-up comedian, so I wasn’t so into stand-up comedy to begin with. I just looked at people who had an impact on my life. And the most of those were like sitcoms, and Bill Cosby was at the top of the list, so there’s a sad ending to that story.

When did you first know you were talented at being funny? Like, could you make your high school friends crack up?

Oh, I’ve been thinking highly of myself for a long time. So I don’t know that there was a singular moment, it was just more of like a feeling of like, oh yeah, I’m gonna say stuff that people don’t feel comfortable saying. Then I started to get in trouble for it.

And then you kind of realize you have a bigger mouth than most people, because I like that kind of confrontation. I like the interesting conversation that comes from it.

And so I’ve always kind of done that. When you have a very strong point of view, then there’s a couple of good avenues for you to take and one of them is becoming a stand-up comedian.

What do you like better about interviewing stars on your podcast than on a TV show?

There’s a lot. There’s a much more casual vibe to podcasting, obviously, because you’re not on camera, so that’s easier, it requires fewer people, and it is not a production. But with a big production and TV show and everything that comes with it, it is a lot glossier and a little bit more exciting.

And then with stand-up, that’s a combo of both of those things. It’s exciting and it’s casual. So I get to experience all those things and they overlap very much in everything I do, between my books, my stand-up, my TV.

Whatever I’m doing, it’s my personality. I’m not playing a character, so I think that’s why the people that can relate to me know that I’m the real deal. I’m not pretending to be something else.

What do you love about performing stand-up? What keeps you coming back to it?

It’s a very good way to stay grounded. Because you’re out there with regular people face-to-face and so you’ve got to really be real. There’s a very, very special vibe to it. Plus you’re on stage with a microphone and no one else is allowed to talk but you, which is obviously ridiculous. But it’s very rewarding and makes you feel pretty good.

How would you rate your joint-rolling skills?

Oh no, I can’t roll a joint. I just buy everything pre-rolled. Thank goodness.

I think it [legalized recreational marijuana use] might even be here in Alabama within five or so years.

It’ll be at my show. Because last time I was in Alabama, I got a lot of weed backstage at the meet-and-greet. So there’s really weed happening all over.

Chelsea Handler will perform at Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama 7:30 p.m. May 7. Tickets start at $27 plus fees via ticketmaster.com. Complete tour dates at chelseahandler.com.

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