Chelsea Handler Shares How She’s Coping Post-Election: ‘How Did This Happen?’

Chelsea Handler has reputation for being outspoken, but the talk show host admits that even she’s been rendered speechless since Donald Trump pulled off a surprise victory in the presidential election on Nov. 8.

“I’m bummed!” Handler, 41, tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “Twenty times a day I’m like, How is this a reality? How did this happen?”

The woman behind Netflix’s Chelsea shares that producing a show was far from her mind on Nov. 9 when she was still crippled from shock.

“I walked into work that day,” she recalls, “I just thought, ‘I do have a house in Spain. I can go wherever the hell I want! I don’t ever have to work again.’ ”

But her colleagues snapped her out of her despair, reminding her of the influence she has as a successful comedian and small-screen personality: “Everyone in my office was like, ‘No, we need you to do a show today. We need you.’ ”

She continues, “I do have an audience, I know how many people watch my show, I want them to know that I’m on their side and I’m not going to ever give up.”

For more from Chelsea Handler, pick up this week’s issue, on newsstands Friday

So what did Handler learn from the divisive period leading up to and following the election?

“Not just men and women, but women and women have to stick together,” she shares. “If this has shown us anything, it’s that the worst thing or the most unthinkable can happen and we have to stand up. We’ve really just got to figure out a way to make sure accountable for everything he does and says.”

“The good message is, we’re going to fight even harder,” she adds. “And that’s all I’ve got for you, because it’s rough.”

Chelsea premieres new episodes every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday on Netflix.