11 Funniest ‘Chelsea Lately’ Country Music Interviews
As an interviewer, Chelsea Handler can hold her own with pretty much anyone, but it seems like something particularly special happens every time she sits down with a country star. With Chelsea Lately wrapping its seven-year run on E! after the August 26th episode, we look back at her best moments talking booze, sex and and a whole lot more with some of the genre's biggest names. Oddly enough, almost half of these interviews have something to do with Blake Shelton, whose wild ways make him a constant object of Handler's admiration and target for her hysterical insults. Enjoy them all below. Chelsea Lately ends with a live episode on August 26th at 11:00 p.m. ET.
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Blake Shelton, 2010
Handler and Shelton have a natural chemistry, thanks in part to their shared loved of booze. For her 600th episode, Shelton came by with a special gift for the host: a yellow tank-top that said, "Hot Mess Blake Shelton Was My 600th." Aside from ribbing him about his engagement to Miranda Lambert and tweeting about hangovers and porn, Handler zinged him over his 2010 compilation album, Loaded: The Best of Blake Shelton. "Have you been out long enough to have greatest hits? Seriously, I'm sure it's great, but how old are you?" she asked to which he replied, "What the hell difference does that make? You gotta be 70 to have a greatest hits?" Laughing, she retorted, "No, I'm just saying, it feels like you're putting in as little work as possible."
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Trace Adkins, 2013
Days before Shelton's 2010 appearance, Adkins discussed his pal, saying "It's like working with an animal. You have to give him a treat when he's good, spank him when he's not. He's not very smart." When the three-time ACM winner came back to the show last year, he brought a message from Shelton with him: "Tell her she needs to be a little sluttier. That's the only reason people like her." "He's right. "I'm a real slut inside," Handler admitted. "Don't hold out on my account, boo," Adkins said, leading to the show host joking about his third marriage inevitably failing, then making fun of him for "crying like a little bitch" when hosting the American Country Awards. Can these three get together and trade jabs soon?
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Luke Bryan, 2013
Because twerking has been a go-to topic in the entertainment world for the past few years — thanks to Miley Cyrus, and now Taylor Swift — Bryan admitted that the dance move is one of his biggest shortcomings. "I've learned about twerking. I can't twerk," he said. "To twerk, you've gotta have another layer of like sponge or something. I don't have that." Naturally, this led to a discussion of Bryan's cover of Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back," which is worth watching just to hear the Georgia native say, "My anaconda don't want none."
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Tim McGraw, 2013
At this stage in his career, it's difficult to imagine McGraw not being able to hold his own onstage, but you can't fault him for faltering when Bruce Springsteen suddenly made him sing a verse of "Glory Days" during a tribute concert that also featured Elton John, Sting, Zac Brown and Tom Morello. As McGraw explained to Handler, he tried to stay out of the spotlight when performing next to those luminaries, but the rock icon spotted McGraw's signature cowboy hat and beckoned him up to the microphone. Anyone who's ever been called on by a teacher when they didn't do their homework can guess what happened next.
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Miranda Lambert, 2011
After Lambert's Four the Record debuted at No. 1, she sat down with Handler to talk about her success, bond over being awesome women, and, of course, booze. Then, naturally, the conversation turned towards sex, nudity, and Lambert's marriage to Blake, including their "hot mess" wedding, before going back to tamer topics like dogs and Nintendo. If only there was video of Lambert and Handler teaming up to roast the hell out of Blake….
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Rascal Flatts, 2012
Continuing the Blake Shelton trend, Handler brought up the fact that Rascal Flatts used to bring him on tour as an opener, making them responsible for, in their words, "every ounce" of his success. Their biggest piece of advice? Getting him to cut off his "Billy Ray" mullet. The talk then turns to hunting and PETA, with Handler observing, "Don't worry. Country musicians can get away with anything."
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Florida Georgia Line, 2013
After winning the AMA Single of the Year for their Nelly-assisted remix of "Cruise," the duo discussed their big night, though Handler had quite the evening of her own, watching the ceremony at a party with One Direction's Harry Styles, Jaden Smith and the Kardashians. "I like everyone. I just talk s—," she said, before admitting that she ate all of the English-style eggs Styles graciously made for the guests at midnight.
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Jake Owen, 2014
The 32-year-old singer started his interview by talking about the time Handler got him in trouble with his now-wife by talking about how many women he must meet on tour. This time, he brought up the fact that he's married with a baby, and proposed onstage — without having a ring to give her. "I was planning on proposing, because I got her pregnant," he said to loud cheers. "But, the only reason I got her pregnant was because I was planning on proposing." In less awkward news, Jake endearingly talked about how, earlier this month, he helped out some boaters who were in trouble, without them realizing it was a country star who came to their rescue.
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Taylor Swift, 2010
Back when she was 20, Swift sweetly spoke about how her pre-show warm-up routine involved singing 50 Cent songs, a fact that really surprised Handler (who once dated the rapper). As opposed to her usually racier interviews, Chelsea treated Taylor gently, getting the young star to say some funny stuff about her height and turning 21. In 2013, things weren't as copacetic between the two, when Handler joked about Swift's dating history and pure image. ""My theory about Taylor Swift is that she's a virgin, that everyone breaks up with her because they date her for two weeks and she's like, 'I'm not gonna do it.' And they're like, 'Oh, well, forget it. Then I don't want to date you,'" she said on Bravo's Watch What Happens Live. "Every guy thinks they're going to devirginize her, and they're not. She's never going to get devirginized, ever, ever, ever, ever." Swift was reportedly not amused, but here's hoping they can shake it off.
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Lady Antebellum, 2013
For those not in the know, "Let's get together and write some songs" is a pretty standard Nashville pick-up line, according to Lady Antebellum's Charles Kelley. He was talking about how he originally met bandmate Hillary Scott and, of course, Handler asked, "And you guys have never slept together?" Handler also brought up the fact that Scott was rejected by American Idol twice, saying, "It doesn't matter how many times you've been rejected. All that needs to happen is one person to tell you yes, and everybody else can go f— themselves." Truer words…
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Reba McEntire, 2009
Handler's interview with Reba got off to a slightly awkward start when she pointed out that the country icon wrote a song called "She's Turning 50 Today" after she'd already turned 50. Then they got back on track with, yep, a mention of Blake Shelton, with Handler referring to him as "cute," predating her go-to description of him as a "hot mess." My how things have changed in five years.