CB and I both really disliked Chelsea Handler’s handling of her hosting duties for Sunday’s VMAs. Personally, I had time to prepare myself for how badly she was going to suck, and how many racist, dumb, and drunk jokes she was going to make. So I went in with my expectations pretty low, and Chelsea met them. I think CB was more surprised – CB emailed me expressing shock with some of the casual dumb race-tinged jokes that Chelsea made.
Anyway, we’re not alone. Most television critics and casual snarkers thought Chelsea kind of sucked too. Entertainment Weekly nicely noted that Chelsea “felt a little like Host the VMAs Paint-by-Numbers”. NYT television critic Jon Caramanica sniffed: “And then there was the awkward plight of the night’s host, Chelsea Handler. She was among the worst in the show’s history — purposefully out-of-touch, with brief, alarming flashes of off-color racial humor… she never looked comfortable, undone by nerves, brittle material and the wattage of those around her.” That’s the classiest way of calling someone an old whore that I’ve ever encountered. The LAT’s critic complained of Chelsea’s “steely-eyed tackiness” with “ill-advised, racially tinged humor.” THAT’S SO TACKY!!!! Maybe Julia Roberts was talking about Chelsea all along! Actually, “tacky” is a great way to describe Chelsea. I’m taking it.
Anyway, it doesn’t matter how many frou-frou TV critics and offended bloggers Chelsea left in her wake – the VMAs were one of the biggest show’s in the last decade of MTV programming. They got 11.4 million viewers, the biggest audience since 2002. So does Chelsea deserve some of the credit for the success? Or was it just a case of people tuning in despite of Chelsea’s poor performance, because they wanted to see Kanye and Taylor Swift and Drizzy and Lady Gaga and Eminem and my girl Florence? Well, Chelsea has seen our criticisms and she’s throwing the numbers back in our faces. With a special shout-out f-ck you to Perez.
[From Chelsea’s Twitter]
Ugh. God, who to choose in a war between Perez and Chelsea? I’m easing more towards Perez, just because the “your life is a bomb” comeback it totally kindergarten. I’m surprised she didn’t respond “Your MOM is a bomb. Your mom has sex with black guys. You’re so HISPANIC.” Bitches, both of them.
Header: Handler backstage at the VMAs on Sept. 13, 2010. Credit: WENN.
The ratings had nothing to do with her as a host.. SHE SUCKED..
It was all Gaga, Justin B, and the others. Many tuned in hoping for some drama. OVERALL it was a boring show.. and Handler’s jokes fell FLAT.. She can spin all she wants she didn’t do a great job at all.
Ew. I thought that was Perez in that Matt Damon pic in the links. D:
I think people tuned in looking to see what would happen between Kanye West and Taylor Swift. Jokes on them, huh?
Let’s be honest here- There was NOTHING else on! It was a slow Sunday night; After I watched a few minutes of the Chelsea suckfest I turned to the Food Network and watched some lame game show instead of listening to Chelsea bark out angry (and really bad) jokes!
She is not funny. No one watched that show to see her. I don’t know how she keeps that stupid E! show. It sucks.
The worst thing is that I actually liked Chelsea before the VMA’s, now I just can’t stand her.
First, any time someone is in a war with Perez, I am on the other person’s side. If Charles Manson was in a Twitter war with Perez, I’d be Team Manson.
Second- I think people wanted to see Eminem, and Gaga. Perios.
Third- The only reason I watched the show at all was for the opening number, after that I tuned out and watched True Blood, Mad Men, Entourage and Hung.
This woman is never funny and must be a relative of someone who owns large shares of E!
I was looking forward to seeing how she did…It didn’t last long for me, I ended up flipping the channgel. Why do the Jersey Shore slums get so much attention? That are disgusting pigs – all of them!
The ratings had nothing to do with her. I thought she was horrible. People only watched the show to see the artists. It just so happened that she was hosting, that is all. SHE SUCKED!!
Perez or her? Do we really have to choose? Cant we just wish that they both go away?
She is a no talent. always has been. This revelation will finally catch up to her. I smell a mighty depression coming on followed by a few stints in rehab and possibly worse.
good luck gal!!
I didn’t watch it, MTV has gone waaaay down hill in recent years. E! is starting to go the same way.
As the other posters before me, I watched the show despite of CH and her unfunny racist “jokes”.
The show’s ratings don’t have anything to do with her and everything with the performers and presenters.
This woman is soooo over rated. I only wanted to see Linkin Park and Florence and the Machine. Chelsea’s performance was so painful that I channel surfed until LP and FLO&M performed. The one thing I appreciated was that the show told you when the bands were going to perform so you didn’t have to sit through Handler’s humorless vulgar comments. I can not for the life of me figure out why people think she is so funny. She is just a big bully who just looks for easy targets to mock and demean. Not Funny! There is such a huge difference between her brand of so called humor and someone like Ellen Degeneras’humor.
I actually sort of liked Chelsea before the VMAs. Her books and her stand up acts are actually very funny. I did tune in for her and honestly I think others did tune in for her as well. She does have wide appeal as she is constantly selling out her venues and her books do extremely well. That said, she really was not funny – completely not her venue. I think it’s hard for most to succeed in that venue and it was her first hosting gig. Granted her jokes were juvenile and offensive but quite frankly MTV’s audience is probably not the highest echelan. But she does deserve some props whether you like her or not, or that she bombed or not, ratings were due in part to her.
Foul-Mouthed Ass!
Frankly, I like Chelsea, I like her off-color humor, but the VMAs isn’t her venue. I didn’t watch that garbage. Most of those people are caricatures of actual people. I can’t stand hip-hop stars, they’re ridiculous people with ridiculous clothes and ridiculous music. They are much more annoying that Chelsea Handler.
ALL stars are ridiculous caricatures of real people every single one of them the amount of money they get paid makes them unreal, all of them equally should be shot off in a rocket to saturn
I have to laugh everytime a host or performer takes all of the credit for high ratings. People tuned in for Gaga, Eminem, and the Taylor/Kanye drama.
I’m of the opinion that much of America has a terrible sense of humor, and actually did tune in for Chelsea. I personally find her to be crass and very obvious… she’s not one to tell a subtle or clever joke, really. But a lot of us like to be beaten over the head with jokes, so I guess those were the people who tuned in Sunday.
“Your life is a bomb?” That’s exactly what I’m talking about..
I really hate to be like “oh I said this all along, I noticed her shtick first” because that’s not what I’m saying, but I DO distinctly remember when my friends (all females in the 18-24 bracket) started thinking chelsea was just the funniest damn thing who “totally talked JUST like someone they’d be friends with”! — and I remember just thinking, “really?. She’s tired and trite and predictable with her ‘oh I drink vodka and sleep around’ shtick.”
So regardless of who was tired of chelsea first, I’m just pleased everyone is on the same page, and that we’re not seriously setting our comedy standards that low. The thing with Chelsea is, she always picks the MOST obvious joke — like seriously, you can see the wheels turning in her head and almost mouth the words out with her before she even says it. But the other issue is – she always JUST misses the mark. It’s like, here’s the obvious friggin joke and she still manages to deliver it in this totally bland, ill-timed, overly anticipatory way. You can see her waiting for the laugh and it’s just so awkward and bad. God, I can’t think of any other way to explain how not funny this woman is.
I know I am so late for the party, my comment prolly could harvest maggots, but I was really sick this weekend, and didn’t even know anything went down! I can;t resist saying how much I adore this line:
“hat’s the classiest way of calling someone an old whore that I’ve ever encountered.”
And now I have one more reason to loathe this trashy taint: she’s making me choose between herself and Perez in a war.
I don’t hate Chelsea Hander, although I did think she wasn’t the best host they’ve ever had. But I’ll certainly take her over that piece of shit Perez Hilton.
Leave it to the NYTs’ to sound like pretentious twats, no matter what they’re talking about: “the wattage of those around her.”- Who?? Do they seriously think she was thrown off by the “wattage” of Kanye?
I didn’t think Handler did a good job, but it’s not like she had a lot to work with. The highlight of the night was an idiot in a meat dress.
First time in years I did not watch that show, after hearing her veiled comments about the oldest child of Angelina Jolie, her suggestion was Maddox might solicit one of his guards,or a guard it was something of that nature I quickly turned my TV in disbelief, haven’t she heard that child molestation is a crime? What dog does she have in the Brad, Jen divorce, which happened some 6 years ago? Now just what did she mean by that? Chelsea Handler is one sick puppy, no wonder she looks like 50+.
she was funny for a minute. and then she hired Huvane. death knell.
No advertisement for the show I saw on t.v. ever mentioned her as host. Only the list of megastar performers.
MTV knew the (racist, almost unknown) host was not the draw.
Liked her so-so before, can’t stand the woman after the VMAs… put that in your highest rated pipe and smoke it, Chelsea.
Chelsea’s performance was just not funny. She looked like she could barely walk in her shoes & has mentioned that she wears her heels as briefly as possible on her show.
She’s usually funnier on her show. I groaned & felt embarrassed for her performance.
“Perez or her? Do we really have to choose? Cant we just wish that they both go away?”
ditto Vibius