The comedian also shares with ET the benefits of dating in a pandemic.
Chelsea Handler has a few nicknames for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. In her HBO Max comedy special, Chelsea Handler: Evolution, the 45-year-old comedian is very vocal about her "deep, sexual feelings" for the 62-year-old politician, and now she's dishing to ET's Matt Cohen about how her crush on him developed.
Handler says she took notice of the governor when he began conducting daily press conferences at the height of the COVID-19 outbreak in New York and other parts of the U.S. "We had this man, this big Italian meatball coming to the floor who looked like the Incredible Hulk and he was like, 'Yeah, I'm gonna flatten your curve.' I'm like, 'I'm gonna flatten your curve and then apex together,'" she quips. "So, I had a very deep, deep crush on him, and yes, I was very public about it."
As for whether Cuomo knows about her feelings, Handler notes, "I think he's aware. ...Listen, we were all feeling it, you know? A lot of women and a lot of gay guys were [into him] also, and probably a lot of straight guys to be quite honest with you."
Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like Handler's friends will be of any help when it comes to setting her up with the eligible politician. "Nobody's trying to set me up with anybody because of my personality," she jokes. "...There's a very specific age group of men that are drawn to me, and those men are between the age of 60 and 80 and they love me. They're usually married and older and they get a kick out of me. Men my own age are like, 'Listen, you're too loud, you're too opinionated,' they're not as into it."
When Handler does get around to dating, she admits that it's been easier during a pandemic. "The benefits of COVID are going on dates with people and then deciding you don't want to be physical with them and saying, 'Well, it's COVID, we can't do anything anyways,'" she quips. "Or you can stop hanging out with people because you're like, 'It's COVID, it's just too dangerous.' So it's a good way to thin the herd."
One thing that wasn't as easy in such unprecedented times was filming a comedy special.
"You can't communicate in the same way that you used to. There's distance between you and the people that you need to talk to, like my director, the producers on set. You're all kind of sectioned off. ...So you're not ever mixing and mingling with anybody that isn't in your section," she explains. "It was definitely a stressful shoot. ...The next morning I woke up and I was like, 'Oh my god.' I felt like I had been through the ringer. I was so wiped out. ...I woke up and I just started bawling."
Fans of Handler's will surely bawl with laughter when they watch the special, and she shares with ET that while it was tough to shoot, it was important to her that she do this. "I just really wanted to be able to marry hysterical laughter with deep, deep thinking and emotion," she says. "I wanted to have that kind of arc and to bring people in, in a personal way."
Chelsea Handler: Evolution is now streaming on HBO Max.
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