Chevy Chase now says the conflict he had with the cast and crew of Community was simply a big misunderstanding. He’s looking back on his departure from the show, where he played Pierce Hawthorne, the wealthy CEO of a towelette company, for four seasons, with a brief return in a later season.
Chevy Chase departed the show Community after reportedly using a racial slur while discussing a scene with the character Pierce. Even though the slur wasn’t directed at any of the Black actors, he was fired for saying it. Chase later apologized, explaining he used the word while expressing his frustration with his character’s storyline.
In a recent interview with The New York Times about his upcoming CNN documentary, I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not, Chevy Chase said he accepts how the show Community ended his involvement. He explained that his use of a racial slur on set created a situation that was “too much of a misunderstanding” to overcome, describing the response from younger cast and crew members as a strong, emotional one.
NYT: How do you feel about how your role ended?
Chevy Chase: I thought it ended great.
NYT: You did?
Chevy Chase felt there was a big misunderstanding about his words and intentions. He believed at least one person didn’t understand him, didn’t know his work, or wrongly assumed he was racist, possibly because they were too young to be familiar with his career. He described their reaction as being based on instinct rather than understanding.
As a longtime fan, I’ve been following the behind-the-scenes drama, and it sounds like Chevy Chase was getting really unhappy with his role on the show. Apparently, he even walked off set during the filming of the season three finale! From what I understand, things got pretty tense between him and the show’s creator, Dan Harmon. There’s a story about Dan actually dressing Chevy down with some harsh language – and incredibly, it happened right in front of his family at a wrap party. It’s a really sad situation, honestly, to see things escalate like that.
He was let go during the fourth season while David Guarascio and Moses Port were the showrunners. The firing occurred after Chase reacted strongly to a scene requiring his character to use a hand puppet with blackface alongside Yvette Nicole Brown and Donald Glover. Sources say he then sarcastically questioned if the script would also call for him to use a racial slur.
Following Chevy Chase’s remarks about the show Community and his growing annoyance with the way Pierce’s character was becoming increasingly racist, he appears to feel better about being let go after voicing his concerns. His frustration stemmed from a desire to avoid playing a racist character, even though he used a racial slur to illustrate why he objected.
Despite being fired from Community for using an offensive word, Chase has continued to find work in film and television. However, this success doesn’t excuse his use of the slur, even if it wasn’t directed at anyone specifically. Ultimately, the actor appears content with how his time on the show ended.
The CNN special, “I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not,” premiered on January 1st and will be streaming on HBO Max starting January 31st.
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2026-01-02 16:58