The ladies weren't taking any chances on Monday, going to lengths to make sure Chelsea Handler couldn't skip her spot on the Fourth Hour.
The late-night talk show host appeared Monday to promote the third season of “After Lately,” the mockumentary that captures behind-the-scenes antics among the “Chelsea Lately” staff.
Kathie Lee makes an appearance in an upcoming episode of the show, in which she mentions the feud that arose last fall after Handler canceled a Fourth Hour appearance at the last minute (and then spent the next several days giving different excuses for why she bailed).
Not about to risk Handler flying the coop again, KLG and Hoda found a fail-safe method to make sure she would stick around for their segment after she sat down with Matt Lauer for an interview earlier in the morning.
“Is she chained? Oh my God, she’s handcuffed!” Hoda said after seeing Handler chained to a table in the green room. “This is perfect. She can’t leave.”
But it was all in good fun, and Handler did stick around to discuss why she loves her new show and its less restrictive, more experimental format.
“’After Lately’ is my favorite project ever,” she said. “We get to re-enact different kinds of situations that have happened between me and the writers.”
Jay Leno, a popular victim of Handler’s ferocious barbs, appears on Monday night’s show.
“Jay Leno knows what’s up. I’ve told him plenty of times on air, off air, what I think of him and he knows and he’s okay with it, and that’s why we get along so well,” Handler said.
She then joked it also helped that “we slept together several times. He’s married so obviously, we were with his wife as well. It was a three way.”
Kathie Lee mentioned that all of Handler’s criticism and sarcasm actually hides the comic's softer side.
“What so many people don’t realize about you, that when you are not copulating in one form or another, you are a darn nice person,” KLG said. She mentioned that Handler had gone out and purchased 20 copies of Hoda’s best-selling book as soon as the two talked about it.
“I try to be nice to make up for the rest of the time that I’m being the way that I am,” Handler said. “I try to be generous because I want people to think that I have a good heart. I kind of do, it’s just kind of clouded.”
But Handler made it clear she needs KLG and Hoda to stop talking about their infamous feud once and for all.
“You guys really know how to beat a dead horse. I mean seriously,” she said. “Enough already. It’s over.”
The ladies agreed, and they all drank to that!
“You guys have turned into such lushes,” Handler quipped.