Comedian Chelsea Handler has said it is important to not just be a “flame thrower” when it comes to criticising President Donald Trump.

Chelsea, who led the Women’s March at Sundance Film Festival the day after the election, said comedians who target the president should have a specific purpose and point.

She has frequently skewered Trump and his staffers online and on television but said jibes must have “heft”.

She said: “When we elected this toddler I think it’s important to be vociferous in a sharp way, not just be a flame thrower.

“I think it’s important to be bold and proud and loud and have fun, I want everything to be funny first, but as you grow up you want to have heft with what you’re being funny about.”

Donald Trump (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
Donald Trump (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Chelsea added she had been moved by the global response to Trump’s election and the marches and protests that have taken place around the world.

She said: “To see how many countries care was amazing. I was never so impacted by another country’s election that I got up and protested and we saw the world was with us and that was really beautiful.

“Thanks for caring about the US because we sure care about ourselves.”

The star’s outspoken politics have exposed her to online abuse but she said she tries not to let it bother her, adding: “You should focus on the positive rather than the negative.

“I take it from myself that I find it to be a bunch of noise, if you’re servicing the people who don’t like you, you’re not doing your job.”

Chelsea Handler  (Richard Shotwell/AP)
Chelsea Handler (Richard Shotwell/AP)

Chelsea will soon return to Netflix for a second series of her talk show Chelsea, which she said has allowed her to “change the narrative about herself” after she left her late night talk show at US channel E!.

She said: “I was so sick of being asked what’s it like being the only woman in late night, I wanted to change the conversation.

“It’s the first talk show on Netflix so now I’m asked ‘what’s it like to be on Netflix?’ I was so sick of being asked what it’s like being a woman, I’ve been dealing with it for quite some time, and I was able to change the narrative.

“Netflix has thrust women into the forefront in a way no TV has before, with heavily dominated female casts and that is a point of pride.”

Handler returns to Netflix on April 14.