Chelsea Handler Roasted James Corden in Her Critics Choice Speech

Chelsea Handler attends the 28th Annual Critics Choice Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on January 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, California

(Image credit: Photo by Axelle / Bauer-Griffin / Getty)

published 16 January 2023

Chelsea Handler is known for her irreverent sense of humor, so we all knew we were in for a treat when she came on stage to deliver a monologue at the 2023 Critics' Choice Awards on Sunday night.

True to herself, the comedian did not hold back on jokes at the expense of her fellow famous people—or at her own expense, for that matter.

She opened with this zinger: "I know that I have a reputation that precedes me, but you should all know that I have been to two years of therapy, so everyone is safe now!"

This turned out not to be entirely true, because Handler went on to absolutely roast a few people who have been in the news of late for various reasons.

"The cast of The Bear is here," she said. "Awesome show. They showed us how grueling and absolutely miserable working in the restaurant industry can be. And they didn't even have to wait on James Corden."

This was a reference to a 2022 incident in which Corden was banned from an NYC restaurant for yelling at staff.

In the same vein, Handler hit out at Ellen DeGeneres without naming her. "Cate Blanchett is here tonight!" she said. "In the movie Tár, Cate portrayed an iconic lesbian, whose career is upended by her toxic behavior. And she didn't have to host her own daytime talk show!"

In 2020, DeGeneres was accused by former staff of creating a "toxic work environment" on The Ellen Show, per People.

Nobody is off limits for Handler, who came for royalty, too.

"Dahmer became the third highest viewed show on Netflix with a combined watch time of one billion hours—which apparently is the same amount of time we're gonna have to listen to Prince Harry talk about his frostbitten penis," she quipped.

In his newly released memoir Spare, the Duke of Sussex goes into somewhat jarring detail about the time his "todger" fell victim to the extreme Arctic weather, which has of course inspired a plethora of memes and commentary.

Last but not least, Handler also got political, hitting out at the overturning of Roe v. Wade last year. She said, "I'm just happy to be here tonight, supporting the critics' right to choose. At least someone still has a choice! Unless they're a female critic, and then it depends on what state they live in."

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and Shape. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.