Chevy Chase says ‘I’m not a racist’ as N-Word incident resurfaces in community

Chevy Chase recently participated in a joint interview with The New York Times alongside Marina Zenovich, the director of the new CNN documentary ‘I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not,’ and was asked how the film captures Chase’s tumultuous period in ‘.’ Chase had a regular role on the NBC sitcom and left after season 4 amid a public feud with creator Dan Harmon over creative differences and an incident in which he allegedly said the N-word on set.

“It wasn’t a bad experience. I just didn’t think the show was that good,” Chase told The Times about the series.

When asked how he felt about the ending of his role, Chase replied, “I thought it ended great.”

“It was too much of a misunderstanding about what I said and what I didn’t say,” Chase then added about his departure. “I thought there was at least one person – and then another who for some ungodly reason didn’t understand me, didn’t know who I was, or didn’t realize for a second that I’m not a racist. They were too young to be aware of my work. Instead, there was some sort of visceral reaction from them.”

As told in the documentary and by The Times: “During production of Season 4, Chase became frustrated with his character’s increasing bigotry, particularly with a storyline in which the character does a bit with a blackface glove puppet. The documentary recounts allegations that Chase, frustrated, asked if his character was going to use a racial slur next, and he reportedly uttered the slur in reference. He abruptly left the show.”

“Community” director Jay Chandrasekhar is interviewed in the documentary and says Chase had a “meltdown” on set after an incident in which he allegedly used the N-word on set was leaked to the press. The alleged incident took place between Chase and co-star Yvette Nicole Brown, with Chandrasekhar explaining: “I know there was a history between [Chevy and Yvette] around the race, and she got up and stormed out of there. Chevy storms off, so the producer says, “We need Yvette in the scene, right?” I’m like, ‘Yeah, she’s in the next scene.’ And he says, ‘Well, she’s not going to get out unless Chevy apologizes.’

Chandrasekhar said Chevy eventually returned to the set, but claimed he “didn’t say anything” to upset Brown, adding:[Chevy] says, “You know, Richard Pryor and 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, man, I love that bit.’ I said, ‘You know, can we just apologize?’ He asks, ‘What for?’”

The incident was later reported by The Hollywood Reporter, who claimed Chase was “frustrated” with his character arc and used the N-word “when questioning the dialogue.” The report highlighted that Chase did not use the racial slur directly against his Black co-stars Brown and Donald Glover, although both actors were reportedly on set at the time.

Chandrasekhar said that when production resumed after the THR story broke, Chase arrived on set and had a “complete meltdown” when he “stormed onto the set, and he said, ‘Who screwed me over?’ … My career is ruined! I’m ruined!’ Like it’s a complete meltdown. “Fuck all of you!” And I said, ‘Okay, let’s film the scene.’ After that he never came back.”

Zenovich earlier told Variety that she tried to convince more members of Chase’s “Community” cast and crew to participate in the documentary, but “every single person said no” because “there are things people don’t want to talk about.”

When the ‘Community’ Incident Resurfaced Because of ‘I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not,’ Yvette Nicole Brown Said went to Instagram and seemed to address this, writing, “There are things I have never spoken about publicly and may never discuss. Anyone currently speaking FOR or ABOUT me with perceived authority is speaking without EVER talking to me about the things they claim they know about. They don’t actually know me at all.”

Donald Glover specifically told it The New Yorker in 2018 that Chase repeatedly made racist jokes on the set of “Community.” Chase, meanwhile, told CBS Sunday Morning in 2022 that he “doesn’t give a damn” about the headlines and former co-stars portraying him as problematic on set, adding at the time, “I don’t care. I am who I am. And I love who I am. I don’t care. And it’s a part of me that I don’t care. And I’ve thought about that a lot. And I don’t know what to tell you, man. I just don’t care.”

Go to The New York Times website to read Chase’s latest interview in its entirety.