“I was Chevy Chase, you’re not,” director Jay Chandrasekhar, interviewed in the upcoming CNN documentary “I’m Chevy Chase, You’re Not,” recalls “I was directing the night Chevy Chase was fired” from the NBC sitcom (via People). Chandrasekhar, known for his work with the comedy group Broken Lizard, said he had a “meltdown” on set after an incident in which he used the N-word on set was leaked to the press.
The incident was said to have happened between Chase and co-star Yvette Nicole Brown, with Chandrasekhar explaining, “I know there was some racing history[between Chevy and Yvette]but she just got up and stormed out of there. Chevy started going wild, and the producers were like, ‘We need Yvette in this scene, right?'” It’s like, “Oh, she’s in the next scene.” And he said, “Unless Chevrolet apologizes to her, she’s not coming out.”
Chandrasekhar claims that Chevrolet eventually returned to the set but “didn’t say anything” that would upset Brown, adding, “[Chevrolet]says, ‘Look, me and Richard Pryor, I used to call Richard Pryor the N-word, and he called me the Honky, and we loved each other.'” And I’m like, “I know, I love that part.” I said, “Can I just apologize?” He said, “For what? ” he said. ”
Chandrasekhar said what Chase said on the “Community” set happened during a “blackface” hand puppet bit written for the comedian’s character Pierce Hawthorne. The incident was later reported by The Hollywood Reporter, which claimed that Chase was “frustrated” with the character and used the N-word “while questioning the conversation.” The report stressed that Chase did not directly use racial slurs against his black co-stars Brown and Donald Glover, although both actors were reportedly on set at the time.
Chandrasekhar said that when filming resumed after the THR story broke, Chase arrived on set and had a “total meltdown” and “stormed on set and said, ‘Who screwed me?'” …My career is ruined! I’m ruined! It’s like a complete meltdown. “Fuck you all!” And I’m like, “Okay, let’s shoot that scene.” After that, he never came back. ”
Variety has reached out to Chase’s representatives for further comment.
Glover told The New Yorker in 2018 that Chase repeated racist jokes on the set of “Community.” According to the profile, Chase “often attempted to disrupt” scenes with Glover by “racism between takes,” one of which was: “People think you’re funny because you’re black.”
“Community” creator Dan Harmon said at the time that “Chevrolet was the first to realize how immensely gifted Donald was, and his expression of jealousy was an attempt to shake him off.” “I remember apologizing to Donald after a particularly bad night with non-Chevrolet PC language, and Donald said, ‘I don’t care about that.’
Glover interpreted Chase’s racist crack as the comedian being “flopping in the water,” adding, “I thought it was time for Chevy to fight. A true artist has to be okay with his reign ending. If he’s flopping in the water, I can’t help him. But I know there’s a human out there somewhere. He’s almost too human.”
Chase told CBS Sunday Morning in 2022 that he “doesn’t care” about the headlines and his former co-stars taking issue with him on set, adding at the time, “I don’t care. I’m me. And I like myself. I don’t care. And there’s a part of me that doesn’t care. I’ve thought about it a lot. And I don’t know what to say. That’s just me.” Don’t worry. ”
Chase left Community after Season 4 following the N-word incident and a public spat with Harmon over creative differences. “Chevy Chase was publicly a little difficult on ‘Community,’ but I’m being nice,” Chandrasekhar said in the CNN documentary. “Everyone was talking about it, and enough was enough that Dan did that at his wrap party,” referring to the time Harmon had party guests chanting “Fuck you, Chevy!”
“My dad took me and my mom to the wrapping party and he was so excited,” Chevrolet’s daughter Kaylee said in the documentary. “When we walked in, Dan, he was drinking. He had the whole cast and crew yelling, ‘Fuck you, Chevrolet!'” “Fuck you, Chevrolet!” I was there and he was showing his daughter like, “This is my show,” and we walked in and said, “Fuck you, Chevrolet!” It’s rowdy and mean. ”
“I’m Chevy Chase, You’re Not” director Marina Zenovic told Variety that she tried to get more of Chase’s “Community” cast and crew involved in the documentary, but “everybody said no” because “there are things you don’t want to talk about to people.”
“I ran into Dan Harmon at a screening of ‘Deaf President Now!’ and got his phone number,” she added. “I was so excited. I thought it was going to happen, but then he said no. I was really lucky to get Jay Chandrasekhar. He had a great delivery and was happy to go there. If Jay had said no, I would have been screwed.”
“I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not” will air on CNN on January 1st.
