Say goodbye: Chelsea Handler is likely leaving E!
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Enjoy Chelsea Handler on E! while you still can; the host of Chelsea Lately is reportedly planning on departing the cable network once her contract is over at the end of the year.
The news was delivered to The Hollywood Reporter by manager Irving Azoff, who joined Handler's team in October. While not announcing what her plans are, he said, "We have at least seven suitors and many ideas." The presumptive departure is not a big surprise to those who have been listening to Handler herself — in an interview earlier this month on The Howard Stern Show, she said that E! is "a sad, sad place to live."
During her last negotiations in 2011, Handler snagged a $25 million two-year contract extension. Since then, ratings for Chelsea Lately have declined — between 2010 and 2013, viewership dropped 32 percent, and it's still falling — but she is still considered an asset; as the only woman at the helm of a late night talk show, she helped put E! in the spotlight.
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As for E!, the network is keeping quiet, saying in a statement, "Chelsea has nine months left on her contract and E! will not comment on the future of Chelsea Lately at this time."
