--- description: Comedian Chelsea Handler has come under fire for saying First Lady Melania Trump “can barely speak English.” title: Chelsea Handler Is in Hot Water for What She Said About Melania Trump image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3deb115bb18906a5/6988b71c0a4a2233ce9ccafa/chelsea-handler-melania.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [celebrities](/tag/celebrities/) ## celebrities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Chelsea Handler Is in Hot Water for Saying Melania Trump 'Can Barely Speak English' ## Video: Chelsea Handler: ‘I Blame the Kardashians’ for Donald Trump’s Presidency [Watch (HLS stream): Chelsea Handler: ‘I Blame the Kardashians’ for Donald Trump’s Presidency](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/opVL1TCR.m3u8) (0:50)  _Published 2017-01-17. Chelsea Handler used her public platform to make a difference across the 2016 presidential election cycle, helping to register nearly 17,000 voters while openly criticizing Donald Trump as his campaign endured_  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 25, 2017 12:59 PM CUT  Chelsea Handler is pictured here on Jan. 21, 2017 in Park City, Utah. Chelsea Handler is pictured here on Jan. 21, 2017 in Park City, Utah.Michael Kovac—2017 Michael Kovac  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 25, 2017 12:59 PM CUT Comedian [Chelsea Handler](http://time.com/4191580/chelsea-handler-mobile-app-gotta-go/ "undefined") has come under fire for saying [First Lady Melania Trump](http://time.com/4641980/melania-trump-martha-washington/ "undefined") “can barely speak English.” Handler, who has been openly critical of President Trump and helped lead a women’s march in Utah after his inauguration, made the remark during a recent [interview with _Variety_](http://variety.com/video/chelsea-handler-independent-election-democrat/ "undefined"). When asked if she would ever invite the new leader of the free world on her show, Handler said she wouldn’t. Asked whether she would ever interview his wife, the comedian said: “To talk about what? She can barely speak English.” “I don’t respect either one of those people,” Handler added. The First Lady was born in Slovenia, according to her White House [biography](https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/first-lady-melania-trump "undefined"). She can speak five languages, including Slovenian, English, French, Serbian and German, [CBS News](http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/a-crash-course-on-melania-trump/12/ "undefined") has previously reported. Many Trump supporters on social media rushed to point out Melania Trump’s multi-lingual skills while slamming Handler. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4648361/chelsea-handler-melania-trump-english/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4648361/chelsea-handler-melania-trump-english/"},"headline":"Chelsea Handler Is in Hot Water for Saying Melania Trump 'Can Barely Speak English'","datePublished":"2017-01-25T12:59:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T10:38:56.578Z","description":"Trump's supporters were quick to note that the First Lady speaks five languages","url":"https://time.com/4648361/chelsea-handler-melania-trump-english/","keywords":["celebrities","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3deb115bb18906a5/6988b71c0a4a2233ce9ccafa/chelsea-handler-melania.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3deb115bb18906a5/6988b71c0a4a2233ce9ccafa/chelsea-handler-melania.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"chelsea-handler-melania","caption":"Chelsea Handler is pictured here on Jan. 21, 2017 in Park City, Utah.","creditText":"Michael Kovac—2017 Michael Kovac","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4648361/chelsea-handler-melania-trump-english/","name":"Chelsea Handler Is in Hot Water for Saying Melania Trump 'Can Barely Speak English'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Chelsea Handler: ‘I Blame the Kardashians’ for Donald Trump’s Presidency","description":"Chelsea Handler used her public platform to make a difference across the 2016 presidential election cycle, helping to register nearly 17,000 voters while openly criticizing Donald Trump as his campaign endured","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/opVL1TCR/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-01-17T22:07:31.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/opVL1TCR.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4648361/chelsea-handler-melania-trump-english/","duration":"PT50S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4648361/chelsea-handler-melania-trump-english/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```