Chevy Chase allegedly had a “full meltdown” when he used the N-word on the set of “Community,” a witness to the 2012 incident claimed.
In the upcoming CNN documentary “I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not,” director Jay Chandrasekhar explained that he was directing the NBC sitcom the night that Chase got fired from the series for using the racial slur, according to People.
Chase, according to Chandrasekhar, was frustrated about a “blackface” hand puppet bit written for Chevy’s character, Pierce Hawthorne, and “said something” to co-star Yvette Nicole Brown.
“I know that there was a history between [Chevy and Brown] around race, and she got up and stormed out of there,” Chandrasekhar claimed. “Chevy storms off, so the producer is like, ‘We need Yvette in the scene, right?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, she’s in the next scene.’ And he goes, ‘Well, she won’t come out unless Chevy apologizes to her.’ ”
Chandrasekhar recalled that Chase allegedly returned to the set but insisted he “didn’t say anything.”
“He goes, ‘You know, me and Richard Pryor, I used to call Richard Pryor the N-word, and he used to call me The Honky, and we loved each other.’ And I’m like, ‘I know, man, I love that bit.’ I said, ‘You know, can we just have a little apology?’ He goes, ‘For what?’” Chandrasekhar explained.
The director added that someone leaked to The Hollywood Reporter that there a “racial incident” on the set. When the cast and crew returned to set afterwards, Chase had a “full meltdown,” Chandrasekhar claimed.
Chase came “storming onto the set, and he goes, ‘Who f—– me over?’ … ‘My career is ruined! I’m ruined!’ Like, it’s a full meltdown. ‘F–k all of you!’” Chandrasekhar recounted. “And I’m like, ‘Alright, let’s shoot the scene.’ He never ended up coming back after that.”
Chandrasekhar also mentioned how Chase had a contentious relationship with “Community” creator Dan Harmon, mentioning the time that Harmon, 52, got guests at the show’s wrap party to say “F–k you, Chevy!”, which led Chase to infamously leaving a profanity-filled voicemail for Harmon.
“It was out in the open that Chevy Chase was a little difficult on ‘Community, ‘and I’m being nice,” said Chandrasekhar. “People were talking about it, enough that creator Dan did that thing at the wrap party.”
The Post has reached out to Chase’s rep for comment.
At the time of the incident in 2012, THR claimed that Chase “apologized immediately” to his “Community” co-stars after using the N-word while on a rant about his issues with his character. He reportedly used the slur when he was confused about the dialogue in a scene with Brown, 54, and Donald Glover.
Chase didn’t deny using the racial slur during an interview with the Washington Post in 2018.
“I could have said it,” the comedian told the publication, before claiming it would have been misinterpreted. The actor added that he had been a fan of Glover’s the entire time they worked together on the show and denied that he was racist.
That same year, Glover, 42, and Harmon opened up to the New Yorker about Chase’s inappropriate on-set behavior.
“Chevy was the first to realize how immensely gifted Donald was, and the way he expressed his jealousy was to try to throw Donald off,” Harmon said at the time. “I remember apologizing to Donald after a particularly rough night of Chevy’s non-PC verbiage, and Donald said, ‘I don’t even worry about it.’ ”
Glover chimed in: “I just saw Chevy as fighting time — a true artist has to be OK with his reign being over. I can’t help him if he’s thrashing in the water. But I know there’s a human in there somewhere — he’s almost too human.”
“Community” aired from 2009 to 2014. The show also starred Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Alison Brie and Ken Jeong.
“I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not” comes out Jan. 1.
