Chelsea Handler has changed her career trajectory over the past several months by focusing on political change. The comedian, author and activist will be on the latest edition of Get With the Times in a live conversation with The New York Times. The watch party at UCSB will take place on April 5, 2018 in Buchanan 1940 at 4 pm. More information about the event can be found here. To get excited for Chelsea’s event, check out these six reasons why Chelsea Handler is the ultimate girl boss.
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1. Chelsea ended her successful Netflix show to pursue political activism.
She decided to use her platform to speak up after she was inspired to make a bigger change after the 2016 presidential election. Most of her work so far has been focused on women’s rights and other marginalized communities.
2. The former talk show host publicly supports women running for Congress.
Handler uses Emily’s List to promote a list of candidates across the nation who fight for women’s rights. Chelsea wrote on Twitter that she started working with Emily’s List “to elect more women to public office, register people to vote, and campaign for candidates who are fighting for women’s rights, LGBT rights, and gun control.”
3. Handler knows the power of sisterhood.
In a video for Harper’s Bazaar, Chelsea emphasizes the importance of women coming together to support one another. She adds, “You don’t have to be best friends with women you don’t like, but you do have to be a sister to them.”
Image via NBC News
4. Chelsea welcomes people who have different opinions than her.
She went on tour all over the country to have conversations, and openly welcomed people who love her, hate her, disagree or agree with her. Chelsea is open to learning from others and tries to understand where they’re coming from. Handler told Harper’s Bazaar, “You have to really get to know what’s going on around you. For me, to be daring means to really look outside of myself.”
5. Chelsea doesn’t conform to society’s expectations of women.
Handler is vocal about her happiness with being single despite society’s view that a woman must be married or in a relationship to be truly happy. Chelsea told The New York Times, “You have to sometimes sit down and check in with yourself and recognize if you’re happy. Sometimes people forget to take a look because you’re not with a partner, so you’re like, I’m supposed to [get married and have children because] everyone tells you you’re supposed to, and be a conformist. And then you sit down and think, ‘Wait a second, [my life] is pretty sweet.’ Whatever your life is, don’t just assume you’re not happy. You might actually be happy.”
Image via Elle
6. Handler uses her platform to fight for people who do not have one.
The comedian works with the Karam Foundation to support Syrian refugee families. Chelsea has already sponsored education for refugee children and plans to help more families in the future. Handler recognizes the power she has to make change in the world and she doesn’t plan on wasting it. She wrote on Instagram, “I’m not Muslim. I’m not Mexican. I’m not black. I’m not gay or I’m not transgender. But I know this country is based on inclusiveness, on welcoming people, on loving people that are not like you, on not worrying about how something impacts your life personally, but how it impacts all the people around you and all the people that aren’t around you. And I will fight for it.”
Whether your opinions align with Chelsea’s or not is beside the point. We can all appreciate that she decided to use her platform to fight for what she believes is right. Handler encourages conversations about topics that are important to her while still welcoming everyone’s different opinions. Chelsea is a female boss because she speaks up for others by using the voice she is privileged to have.