Chevy Chase Says ‘I’m Not Racist’ When Asked About ‘Community’ Exit: The Show ‘Wasn’t a Bad Experience. I Just Didn’t Think It Was That Good’

Chevy Chase recently took part 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 about how the film depicts Chase’s tumultuous stint on “Community.” Chase had a series regular role on the NBC sitcom and exited after Season 4 amid a public spat with creator Dan Harmon over creative differences and an incident in which he allegedly said the N-word on set.

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

When asked how he felt about his role ending, Chase answered: “I thought it ended great.”

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

As recounted in the documentary and by The Times: “During production of Season 4, Chase became frustrated with his character’s increasing bigotry, in particular with a story line in which the character does a bit with a blackface hand puppet. The documentary recounts allegations that Chase, in frustration, asked whether his character would next be made to use a racial slur, and reportedly uttered that slur in reference. He abruptly exited 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, leaked to the press. The alleged incident occurred between Chase and co-star Yvette Nicole Brown, with Chandrasekhar explaining: “I know that there was a history between [Chevy and Yvette] around race, and she got up and stormed out of there. 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 said Chevy eventually returned to the set but claimed he “didn’t say anything” to upset Brown, adding: “[Chevy] 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?’”

The incident was later reported on by The Hollywood Reporter, who claimed Chase was “frustrated” with his character arc and used the N-word “when questioning the dialogue.” The report stressed that Chase did not use the racial slur directly at 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 “full meltdown” as he came “storming onto the set, and he goes, ‘Who fucked me over?’ … My career is ruined! I’m ruined!’ Like, it’s a full meltdown. ‘Fuck all of you!’ And I’m like, ‘Alright, let’s shoot the scene.’ He never ended up coming back after that.”

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

As the “Community” incident resurfaced due to “I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not,” Yvette Nicole Brown took to Instagram and appeared to address it by writing: “There are things I’ve never spoken of publicly and perhaps never will. Anyone currently speaking FOR or ABOUT me with perceived authority is speaking without EVER speaking to me about the things they claim to know about. They actually don’t really know me at all.”

Donald Glover notably told The New Yorker in 2018 that Chase repeatedly made racist jokes on the “Community” set. Chase, meanwhile, told CBS Sunday Morning in 2022 that he “doesn’t give a crap” about headlines and former co-stars painting him as problematic on set, adding at the time: “I don’t give a crap. I am who I am. And I like who I am. I don’t care. And it’s 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.”

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