E! Talk Show Host Chelsea Handler Calls Sarah Palin 'Really Stupid'

Late night talk show host and author Chelsea Handler was invited on Tuesday's Today show to plug her new book Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang and couldn't leave the show without taking a dig at earlier guest Karl Rove, as well as Sarah Palin who she called "Really stupid." When asked by 10:00am hour Today host Hoda Kotb how she felt about having her book released at the same time as the former White House advisor's the E! talk show host quipped she was worried about competing for the "stupid" audience with him and Palin, as seen in the following exchange that was aired on the March 9 Today show: [audio available here]

KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: It is, it is, It's laugh out loud though, it really is.

HODA KOTB: Yeah it really is fun.

GIFFORD: I've been reading it since we got it, for a couple weeks. I'm not a slow reader. It's just that I just read it in the morning.

CHELSEA HANDLER: Well it's an easy. It's like a third grade reading level.

GIFFORD: It's an easy read! Yes.

HANDLER: I like to write for my audience and I know that my audience are going, mostly going through some tough times.

KOTB: What do you think about your book coming out at the same time as Karl Rove's?

HANDLER: Well I was on earlier with Matt Lauer this morning and talking about Karl Rove. And obviously I'm wildly attracted to him like any, any young girl is.

GIFFORD: Aren't we all?

HANDLER: I mean he's a silver fox is what he is. And he, yeah his book came out and my publishers didn't tell me I had competition. I was like, you didn't tell me. They said, "Well we don't think it's the same audience." I'm like yeah but it's, I mean there's a lot of really, really stupid people out there that might buy this book. Look what happened to Sarah Palin. She's really stupid.

GIFFORD: Ohhh!

HANDLER: Is that a really close friend of yours? I'm sorry.

GIFFORD: I never met the lady.

HANDLER: Good.

GIFFORD: Never met her.

HANDLER: Let's try and keep it that way.

-Geoffrey Dickens is the senior news analyst at the Media Research Center.