The comedian Chelsea Handler is speaking out this week to reveal the truth behind her feud with the iconic comedian Joan Rivers, admitting that she “wasn’t respectful” to the legend.
. @chelseahandler honored Joan Rivers last night at The Hall: Honoring the Greats of Stand-Up. Who’s your favorite comedy icon? @ntlcomedycenter pic.twitter.com/oaVmJsegLX
— Netflix Is A Joke (@NetflixIsAJoke) May 2, 2022
‘I Wasn’t Respectful’
Handler discussed the feud while appearing on the “Melissa Rivers’ Group Text Podcast,” which is hosted by Rivers’ daughter Melissa.
“Your mom approached me a couple times when we were on E! I just felt like a s— because I had just kinda blown her off,” confessed Handler, 47. “I wasn’t respectful in the way I realize I needed to be now.”
Rivers tragically passed away back in 2014 at the age of 81 due to complications from a botched surgery.
I love it!!! When asked about @chelseahandler on #WWHL, @Joan_Rivers replied, "Who?" #DontEverDisrespectALegend #LMFS #ChelseaWho?
— Sandra O. Noshi-Dint (@Cheapao) July 30, 2014
Related: Joan Rivers’ Daughter Melissa Reveals Why Her Mother Never Would Have Been Cancelled
Handler Honors Rivers On Netflix Special
Handler added that that’s why she was so eager to honor Rivers on Netflix’s “The Hall: Honoring the Greats of Stand-Up,” which dropped on May 19. Melissa said that she “went f—ing bananas” when she learned that Handler would be paying tribute to her mother.
Handler went on to explain that she was “so excited about the opportunity to do it, to go and say those things in front of everybody. To be like, you have to remember that every opportunity that anyone has in this world as a female comedian, you have to thank the people who came before you.”
“When I was on E!, I was so young and arrogant and just thought, ‘I did it. I got myself to where I was,'” she continued. “I didn’t give her the kudos she deserved and so I was eager to like put that in writing.”
Related: Chelsea Handler Rants Against ‘White Men’ Who Complain About Cancel Culture
Handler Thanks Rivers For Being ‘Bold’ And ‘Brave’
In that Netflix special, Handler personally thanked Rivers for being “bold” and “brave.”
“The first time I met Joan Rivers, we were both on E! — and not the fun kind. It was the basic cable network with the exclamation point, which in hindsight was still a good time,” she said. “But, at the time though, I did not realize the enormous impact Joan had on my career.”
“I was too wrapped up in my own world,” Handler added. “I was too young, too confident, and too arrogant to believe anyone had a hand in my success but myself. Now, I know that for every success I’ve had it was because someone came before me who was bolder and braver, and good luck finding someone else who was as bold and as brave as Joan Rivers.”
Check out that tribute for yourself below.
It’s good that Handler has finally realized what a trailblazer Rivers really was. While it would have been nice if she’d come to this realization while Rivers was still alive, it’s better late than never, as they say.
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