Chelsea Handler

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Why I'm Voting, a production of I Heart Radio. Listen.
You already know this, but it's an election year. You
might already be tired of hearing about it. But here's
the thing. Democracy doesn't work without you. I'm Holly Frying,
and I'm sitting down with many of my fellow podcasters,
from Will Ferrell to Stephanie Rule as well as other luminaries,

(00:27):
to find out about their relationships with the ballot box
and ultimately just to find out why they vote. I
hope you're exercising your right to vote, and if you're not,
I hope that their stories inspired you. So today on
Why I Am Voting, I am lucky enough to be
joined by the delightful Chelsea Handler. You know her. She

(00:49):
doesn't really need intro. She's a comedian, actress, activist, and
writer that you have already seen the work of her
book Life Will Be the Death of Me. Also is
now a podcast all the same thing, Life Will Be
the Death of Me. Chelsea. Thank you so much for
joining me on this show. It's my absolute pleasure. Thanks
for having me right out of the gate. I want
to know if you remember the realization of learning as

(01:13):
maybe a kid that you were going to be part
of the democratic process and that you had a responsibility
to make your voice part of determining our leadership. I
did because I grew up in a family that was
pretty liberal, although my parents were a little old school,
so they were liberal in theory, but not in language
or action. You know. I didn't grew up learning about protesting.

(01:35):
My family was like middle class New Jersey kind of.
My dad was a used car dealer, so my dad
loved to talk about voting and talk about politics NonStop.
And then when I finally became eighteen and was able
to exercise my right to vote, I realized my father
had never participated in any action. So so it was

(01:56):
one of those people who told you how to vote,
but didn't bother doing it themselves. I love it A
theoretical voter. Yeah, so that was disappointing. Understandably, did you
register right away when you turned eighteen or did you
wait a bit? I think I moved to California when
I was nineteen, and I think when you move here
and you check into the d m V, they register you.

(02:18):
So I'm wondering if I voted when I was eighteen,
if there was an election that year. I can't be positive,
but I did vote, you know West. Soon after that,
as soon as I moved to l A, I was like, wait, oh, yeah,
you have to participate in in civics. And then you
know I was I wasn't the most responsible person when
I moved here. For the first ten years, I was
waiting tables. I was having fun and trying to figure

(02:40):
out what I was going to do with my life.
But as I've gotten older, which is the evolution with
many of us, we understand how this world operates and
that it works in our favor if you're white. And
that is something that we've all come to the realization
of many of us anyway, that the opportunities that we've
been presented are a result of our skin color. It
doesn't take away from the talent or your ruggle. You

(03:00):
can have talent or you cannot have talent. You can
struggle or you cannot struggle. But being born with white
skin in this country is an advantage. And now I
vote for black people, I vote for marginalized groups, I
vote for the LGBTQ community, I vote for Muslims, I
vote for Mexicans, I vote for immigrants and I vote
for people of color because we, as people of privilege,

(03:23):
have a responsibility to participate in undoing the four hundred
years of oppression that we have done. We are responsible.
Rather whether we were here or not, we are responsible
to undo it. I'm presuming because you are so passionate
about this that you probably also vote in more local

(03:43):
elections and not just the every four year jam. What
is your research process like for that? How do you
look at candidates that maybe aren't as prominent in terms
of like getting their message out and being in the name.
But you know, I'm part of I'm a member of
a lot of groups, so I I have access to
lots of information, and I also screw that up, you
know what I mean? Sometimes we like we're like wait,
you know, and in this moment, uh, you know, you

(04:06):
can't be perfect about your knowledge, but you can be
perfect about pursuing the truth and always looking, you know,
to have your opinions be broadened and to have a
better understanding of a situation. I wonder if you ever
have a moment of hesitation or if you kind of
feel like it's not worth the effort, if you are
in an election where you kind of know that the

(04:26):
results are a lock. Do you feel still feel like
it matters and that it's important for you to go
out there and vote. Yeah, it's a matter of dignity.
You know, you want your voice hurt? You know, No,
you don't. Ever, you can't have the attitude that you
don't matter, that then you don't matter, because then you're
telling yourself you don't matter. And if you don't think,
you're mad or then who else is supposed to believe you?
This is the time to be voting and to be

(04:47):
exercising that right. To a slightly more fun question. I
know some people have like a favorite outfit or they
like to, you know, have a dinner, crack a cocktail
or whatever. Do you have any rituals that go with voting?
After you vote? Do you do anything one for yourself?
I usually vote topless. I will only vote topless. Yeah,
and then I mean yeah, I'd probably take an edible

(05:08):
before I go, just to make sure it's a completely
pleasant experience for myself, right right in states where it
is legal. Here's my last question. If it were your
job to convince people to get out and vote, and
you could only tell them one thing in order to
do that what would that one thing be? This is
a human rights issue. This election is a human rights issue?

(05:29):
Do you care about human rights? Perfect, Chelsea. Thank you
so much for sharing your passion for the democratic process
with us. I'm so excited to share it. Thank you
so much for having me. Yeah, let's hope everybody that
hears it gets their butts out there and vote. Hey
are you not registered to vote yet? But you think

(05:49):
it's something you want to do. You may still have time.
Voter registration deadlines vary by state, so to find out
the scoop for where you are, check out a nonpartisan
registration voting site like head count dot org or fair
vote dot org. Why I'm Voting is an I Heart
Radio production. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit
the i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever it

(06:12):
is you listen to your favorite shows.