TV legend blames “misunderstanding” for racial slur scandal that ended his career
Chevy Chase is scrambling to clear his name after a bombshell new documentary reignited controversy over his time on Community — and his shocking on-set behavior.
The 82-year-old SNL alum sat down with The New York Times alongside the director of CNN’s I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not, insisting he’s “not racist” — despite an infamous incident in which he allegedly dropped the N-word in front of castmates, including Donald Glover and Yvette Nicole Brown.
“It was too great a misunderstanding,” Chase said, claiming he was misinterpreted when criticizing a storyline involving a blackface puppet. “I’m not racist. They just didn’t get me.”
The comedy icon was fired from Community in 2013 after clashing repeatedly with show creator Dan Harmon — and after a leaked voicemail in which Chase slammed the show’s direction and said his character lacked comedic depth. “This is not my kind of comedy,” he fumed in the audio. “You’ve got to give me some range.”
In the interview, Chase doubled down, blaming younger cast and crew who “didn’t know who I was” for the fallout. “There was some sort of visceral reaction,” he said. “They were too young to be aware of my work.”
Though he claims the set wasn’t a “bad experience,” he also didn’t think it was a good one — and none of his Communityco-stars showed up to defend him in the documentary.
Yvette Nicole Brown appeared to reference the doc in a cryptic Instagram post last week, writing, “If I have something to say, I have NO problem saying it,” but added that addressing the past was “beneath me.”
While Community castmates stayed silent, a handful of Chase’s longtime friends — including Goldie Hawn, Lorne Michaels, Martin Short, and Ryan Reynolds — did appear in the documentary.
The scandal has reignited debate over Chase’s troubled history in Hollywood — from feuds and firings to offensive jokes and a reputation for being impossible to work with. Whether this new documentary redeems him or buries him further remains to be seen.
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Real name: Cornelius Crane Chase
“the nickname “Chevy” was bestowed by his grandmother from the English ballad “The Ballad of Chevy Chase”. As a descendant of the Scottish Clan Douglas, she thought the name appropriate.” -Wiki
Article is as clear as mud… as expected of NextGen…
Black people can say the N-word a 1,000 times a day, but whites can’t say it in fun once in a lifetime…