Jane Fonda Once Scolded Chelsea Handler at a Party for Her Bad Behavior: ‘An Act of Love’

Mar. 15, 2025

Chelsea Handler (left) and Jane Fonda in May 2016.Photo:Mark Davis/Getty

Mark Davis/Getty

Jane Fonda (left) and Chelsea Handler in Feb. 2015.Eric Charbonneau/Getty

Eric Charbonneau/Getty

“She could have just avoided me for the rest of our lives and never hung out with me again and just been like, ‘Okay, Chelsea’s badly behaved, I don’t want anything to do with her,’” Handler said. “But she set an example for me that day. That was an act of love.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.The new essay collection details Handler’s transformation toward “becoming the woman she always wanted to be,” per the book’s synopsis, and includes stories about her family, love and learning to spend time alone. Handler also touches upon her 2022 breakup with former partnerJo Koy, though she toldParadethat she doesn’t divulge much in the book, and didn’t tell Koy that she wrote about him.

Chelsea Handler in Dec. 2024.Ethan Miller/Getty

Ethan Miller/Getty

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The new book will also be published on Handler’s 50th birthday. The author toldParadethat she has her own feelings about the milestone.“Everyone keeps asking me [how I feel about turning 50], and I feel like they want me to say something like [sounding slightly bummed], ‘I can’t believe I’m 50,’” Handler said. “[But] this is awesome. My life is exactly what I hoped it would be — it’s more than I hoped it would be. I had no idea what the possibilities were or that I could live a life like this and feel so free.”

source: people.com