Chelsea Handler has responded to Bill Carter’s article ‘Bullish On Boyish’ where he wrote of Jimmy Fallon’s latest venture as the ‘Tonight Show’ host, as well as naming the many other late night hosts. Handler’s issue came when he mentioned her, yet decided to solely put her name in parentheses, stating “(The only female host in late-night is Chelsea Handler, 38, on E!).” Handler has given her statement on the true definition and undermining of his parentheses use. Check out her full response below!
“…. I obviously didn’t expect or want to be a focal point of the piece, and I really just appreciated the photo of me at the top of the article placed alongside my late night contemporaries that featured my new haircut — the feedback has been overwhelming. What bothered me was that when I was listed in a paragraph with the late-night hosts, I was the only name put in parentheses. Mr. Carter wrote, “(The only female host in late-night is Chelsea Handler, 38, on E!).”
I wanted to confirm what a parenthetical suggests, so I looked up the definition. The first few definitions that came up were: incidental, subordinate in significance, minor or casual.
The particular paragraph I was mentioned in was about the competition Jimmy faces for younger viewers. Depending upon whose research you look at, I share the distinction of having the youngest average viewership with Colbert, The Daily Show and Conan. So from a purely statistical standpoint how, in this paragraph, could I only be mentioned as an aside? Was it because I’m a woman?
I don’t expect everyone to like me or my show, or even watch my show — most nights I’m my harshest critic both professionally and personally. And while much of the press has kindly acknowledged my contribution to the late-night landscape I feel over the years, several media outlets have marginalized my presence in the late-night game. I imagined my sustained on-air presence would eventually triumph over any possible gender biases. Plus, I don’t have the energy or desire to pick a fight with every journalist. I think anyone who has ever heard me speak knows how I’d rather spend my leisure time.
I’m speaking up with the awareness that some will roll their eyes or dismiss my point. Yet it would be a disservice to all of the hard working women in entertainment, including Joan Rivers, who was the first woman to have her own late night show. Not to mention how this minimizes the efforts of the 100+ staff members who work hard on my show every day..”
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