Chelsea Handler is set to focus full-time on political activism following the cancellation of her Netflix talk show this month — but the newly minted activist may want to brush up on her knowledge of federal lawmakers, after she apparently mistook Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) to be a woman in a Twitter post Saturday.
“So, Republican rep. Dana Rohrabacher from California is was the original person who received info from Russia, because she works w/ them,” Handler wrote on Twitter Saturday.
The 70-year-old Rohrabacher, who worked as a speechwriter in President Ronald Reagan’s White House and has served in elected office in California since 1989, is a man.
Social media users were quick to point out the mistake.
“Rep. Rohrabacher is a man. But way to assume their gender,” one commenter wrote.
Handler said in a statement this month that she would devote her time to becoming a professional political activist following the cancellation of her Netflix show. The 42-year-old had already become one of Trump’s most outspoken celebrity critics before her show had been cancelled, marching in the anti-Trump Women’s March at the Sundance Film Festival in January and regularly haranguing the president and members of his family on Twitter.
“Like so many across the country, the past presidential election and the countless events that have unfolded since have galvanized me,” Handler wrote on Twitter. “From the national level down to the grassroots, it’s clear our decisions at the ballot box next year will mark a defining moment for our nation.”
“For these reasons, I’ve decided not to return for another season of Chelsea, and instead devote as much time as I can to becoming a more knowledgeable and engaged citizen and to focus on projects that have significance to me,” she added.
Saturday’s apparent social media mistake was not the first time Handler has botched a derisive tweet.
In March, the comedian misspelled the word “genes” in a tweet attacking President Trump’s then-unborn grandchild. She later blamed the mistake on being “a little stoned.”
Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum