Chelsea Handler Says Trump Presidency Was a “Trigger” for Her Childhood Trauma

Chelsea Handler may be used to bringing the funny, but the comedian said the vulnerability she conveys in her memoir, Life Will Be the Death of Me, had a specific trigger. 

During an appearance on The Daily Show With Trevor Noah on Wednesday, Handler admitted she’s used to “oversharing” and wanted to continue doing that, but in a “positive way” with her memoir. “I’ve made a career of oversharing my personal life in inappropriate ways so this felt like the first time for an opportunity to overshare in a positive way with something that was kind of gut-wrenching for me to go through,” she explained. 

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Handler then explained that writing the book was a therapeutic process for her, and she discovered that certain “issues” were stemmed from the death of her brother when she was 9 years old. Handler said that when Trump was elected president, it reignited anger she felt growing up through that traumatic experience. 

“I felt like the world became unhinged,” she explains, also adding that Trump gave her something to be “pissed about” and direct her anger toward. 

“Donald Trump represented to me what happened when I was 9 years old and my brother said he was coming back and he never came back. My world became unhinged, so this was a trigger for me.”

Despite sparking negative feelings, Handler wanted to use her anger for good. “I wanted to make something positive happen out of this administration, and I didn’t want them to rob me of another year of my life.” 

Later in their discussion, Handler also explained how she is aware that she projects white privilege, but that makes her “part of the problem.”  “I think every white person who doesn’t think about white privilege is part of the problem, not the solution.” 

She added: “You can argue that I’m talented, but you can [also] argue that I’m not talented, … [that my success is] a matter of luck, a lot of luck and a lot of privilege. A lot of things being rewarded or given to me as a reward for bad behavior.” She then alluded to how her first book, which was successful, was about one-night stands. 

Continuing to try to make good during the Trump era, Handler shared that she is going to be releasing her own cannabis line. 

“I feel like if we’re going to have to deal with this administration, we should also be legally allowed to smoke cannabis. The whole country, everybody needs to get on board. It grows out of the ground and it’s our friend.” 

Handler said she’s currently in the research process and hopes the cannabis line will be released in the fall. Handler will also launch her first-ever podcast on the iHeartPodcast network. The podcast will have the same name as her memoir. During the podcast Handler will engage TV and film personalities, news anchors, and authors in conversations about self-sufficiency, political activism, handling grief and personal growth.