Chelsea Handler says white privilege made her act like a ‘spoiled brat’ following Trump election

‘White people certainly don’t want to talk about race’

Chelsea Handler has spoken about her negative reaction to the 2016 US presidential election, saying her white privilege made her act like a "spoiled brat".​

This week, the comedian appeared on American talk show The View, alongside hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar and Sunny Hostin.

During her appearance on the show, Handler stated that many people, herself included, responded to Donald Trump's election as US president by "crying and screaming".

In retrospect, the 44-year-old said she believes she acted in this way due to the privilege she's experienced throughout her life as a white woman.

"It was like, well, nothing in your life has ever gone that wrong before? I really had to look and go, no," she said.

Last week, Handler spoke to talk show host Bill Maher about how her emotional response to Trump's presidency drew parallels with the loss of her older brother, which occurred when she was nine years old.

During her interview on The View, the author explained that while her brother's sudden death had been "traumatic and awful", her life has been very fortunate.

"I have never been hungry, I've never been discriminated against that I knew about," she said.

"I think as a person with a platform, you have to start thinking about what kind of contribution you're going to make when you see the things that are going on in this world."

The comedian is currently working on Netflix documentary which focuses on white privilege.

In Handler's opinion, race is a topic that "white people certainly don't want to talk about".

"So I figured start with myself so you know I can hang myself out to dry at my own privilege, at my own reaction to the presidency," she added.

Handler recently opened up about how she saw a psychiatrist following Trump's presidential win.

She explained that she experienced what she described as a "midlife identity crisis" at the time, because her world felt "so unhinged".