Chelsea Handler Reveals Who She Won't Roast at Critics Choice Awards

Chelsea Handler Reveals Who She Won't Roast at Critics Choice Awards

Chelsea Handler is setting her parameters.

Though the comedian isn’t afraid to shell out the quips when she takes the stage as host of the 2026 Critics Choice Awards at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif., not everyone in the audience will find themselves at the receiving end of her jokes. Indeed, she revealed that at the Jan. 4 ceremony, she’s planning to keep her monologue on the lighter side.

“I try to stay away from children, but it's not that kind of show,” Chelsea exclusively told Justin Sylvester on Live From E!: Critics Choice Awards. “We're setting the tone for all of awards season, so we're keeping the vibes high. I want everyone to have a good time.”

But that’s not to say she isn’t planning on making a few digs during the show.  

“I'm going to go after a couple people,” she continued, “but nothing too hard—for anyone that's in the room that is.”

“Kicking off the year with the Critics Choice Awards feels right," Handler joked in November when she was confirmed as host. "Nothing says ‘new beginnings’ like a room full of critics ready to tell you how you did last year."  

But Chelsea isn’t the only star returning to the CCAs, as the 2026 ceremony is a bit of déjà vu for Wicked stars Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jeff Goldblum and Jonathan Bailey. The Ozian crew followed up their smash 2024 film with its finale Wicked: For Good. And for Best Supporting Actress nominee Ariana, saying goodbye to Glinda—and Cynthia’s Elphaba—with a award season run is a dream come true.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," she wrote on her Instagram Story in December, "@criticschoice for this acknowledgement and for including me in this magnificent group of performances. i loved these films, i love these women. i am deeply honored."

For Chelsea, the cast of Wicked: For Good and all the starts on the Critics Choice Awards red carpet, keep reading…

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