Chelsea Devantez Shares a Haul of Celebrity Abortion Stories on a Special Episode of 'Celebrity Book Club'

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Celebrity Book Club with Chelsea Devantez, a podcast that recaps and celebrates the memoirs of female celebrities, just released a special episode featuring comedian Alison Leiby. Devantez has been recapping celebrity memoirs for years and had noticed a commonality between so many of these women: many had shared their stories of abortion and how they accessed health care when they needed it most. With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Devantez and Alison discuss the topic and highlight many of the brave women who have shared their own abortion stories.

Devantez was compelled to record this special episode and says, "One of the greatest political weapons ever wielded is Shame. For years the political right has successfully weaponized Shame around abortion because keeping people silent, embarrassed, and hiding in the shadows is the only way to retain the power that doesn't belong to them," she says. She goes on to say, "Shame makes women take themselves out of the conversation; it makes abortion a difficult topic to cover on shows and in the news, because everyone feels they must tiptoe around it, which ensures inaction. In this moment of defeat, one of the best things we can do is talk openly about abortion, share stories, make jokes, cry if we need to, because simply talking about it is one of the most powerful things we can do."

The episode features a variety of clips that have aired on previous Celebrity Book Club episodes, which include stories from celebrities such as Sally Field, Viola Davis, Chelsea Handler, Reba McEntire, Sinéad O'Connor, and more.

"Every time someone can stand strong in their truth and share it, it allows others to do the same," says Devantez. "One of the ways to try and cure shame is to share your story so you can connect to others and realize you're not alone."

To listen to the episode featuring Alison Leiby, check out this special episode of Celebrity Book Club with Chelsea Devantez at https://www.chelsearosedevantez.com/celebrity-book-club/ or any outlet where podcasts are available.

About Chelsea Devantez: Chelsea Devantez is a Emmy-nominated writer, comedian, filmmaker, and podcast host who entered into an overall deal with 20th Television at the beginning of 2022. She is currently a Co-Executive Producer on the ABC, Gina Rodriguez-led comedy, Not Dead Yet. Prior to that, Chelsea was the Head Writer on Jon Stewart's Apple series, The Problem with Jon Stewart. She began her TV writing career writing for Jon Stewart for his never released HBO show. Since her first go-round with the host, Devantez has written on Girls5Eva, Bless this Mess, Abby's, and Comedy Central's The Opposition with Jordan Klepper. She has a feature in development with Rideback and Sony Screen Gems titled You've Met Your Match about her experience putting her mother-in-law on Tinder. Chelsea's short film, Basic, which she wrote, directed, and starred in, premiered at SXSW 2020 and was released on Amazon Prime. Basic is currently being developed as a feature with Marc Platt Productions, with Meredith Hagner attached to star, and is set to be Chelsea's directorial debut.

Chelsea will release her memoir with Hanover Square Press which is set to be published in Fall 2023. This essay collection is structured around each of the women who have shaped Chelsea's upbringing and career, from family members to celebrities to strangers.

About Celebrity Book Club with Chelsea Devantez:
In September 2020, Chelsea Devantez launched her podcast Celebrity Book Club which recaps and celebrates the memoirs of female celebrities. Since then, Celebrity Book Club has garnered over 3 million downloads and put out over 55 episodes, covering memoirs like Jessica Simpson's Open Book, Gabrielle Union's We're Going to Need More Wine, and Ronnie Spector's Be My Baby, and featuring guests like Stephanie Beatriz, Ashley Nicole Black, Melissa Fumero, Margaret Cho, Gabourey Sidibe, Cecily Strong, Jenni Konner, Leighton Meester, and Paul Scheer. Celebrity Book Club was the very first podcast chosen as an Apple Podcasts Spotlight feature, and is a mainstay of their Top 20 list for Books. The podcast is completely independent and has been supported by over 1k subscribers on Patreon since December 2021.

About Alison Leiby: Alison Leiby is a Brooklyn-based writer and comedian who recently debuted her one-woman comedy show, titled Oh God, a Show About Abortion, at the Cherry Lane Theatre. She was a co-producer on Amazon's "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel." She's written for Comedy Central's "The President Show" and "The Opposition with Jordan Klepper," and she also did punch-up on "Broad City." She also executive-produced Ilana Glazer's "Comedy Time Capsule" and Ilana's Amazon stand-up special, "The Planet is Burning." Other credits include Hulu's "Triumph Election Special" and Cartoon Network's "Teenage Euthanasia." Alison also co-hosts Irony Point's popular podcast "Ruined," with Crooked Media's Halle Kiefer.

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SOURCE Celebrity Book Club