Chelsea Handler has a message for the women of the Unites States of America: “Ladies, we can do better than this.†In an open letter posted to Thrive Global, the Chelsea host cites the election of Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton as evidence of a deep-seated lack of female unity. She’s looking at you, white women. “94% of black women voted for Hillary Clinton, because unlike white women, black women don’t take their rights, liberties, or justice for granted,†Handler says. She points to the fact that approximately 53 percent of white women voted for “a white, entitled rich guy who has spent his entire life working the system for excess personal profit while insatiably groping strange women for personal pleasure†as evidence that “[w]e don’t just have a problem with men supporting women in this country; we have a problem with women supporting women.â€
While it’s too late to un-vote for President-elect Trump and Vice-President-elect Pence — who Handler credits with supporting “Christian Shariah forced pregnancy laws†— she hopes the outcome of this election and the next four years will motivate women to come together to work for each other, and not against their own rights. “We can wake up America and American women to do a better job going forward; to create an activist fire under women to start treating other women and our America with more respect than we have obsequiously shown for our traditional male dominators,†she says. Quoting H.L. Mencken and Malala Yousafzai, Handler’s suggested stratagem involves eschewing jealousy, competitiveness, and the overanalysis of women’s appearance in lieu of active engagement with other women. “Find women that are different than you and figure out the things you have in common,†she advises. “We have a whole generation of girls who are looking at us to see how we treat each other. Let’s show them what the power of being a woman really looks like. Let’s open our arms to each other, and to them.â€