Chevy Chase Responds to COMMUNITY Exit and Controversy: “I’m Not Racist” and “I Just Didn’t Think [The Show] Was That Good” — GeekTyrant

Chevy Chase is once again addressing one of the most talked-about chapters of his long career, and he isn’t backing down from his perspective. In a recent joint interview with The New York Times, alongside director Marina Zenovich, Chase reflected on his dramatic exit from Community and how it’s portrayed in the new CNN documentary I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not.

Chase played Pierce Hawthorne on Community during its early seasons before leaving the NBC sitcom after Season 4. At the time, his departure followed public clashes with creator Dan Harmon and reports of a serious on-set incident involving the use of a racial slur. Looking back now, Chase says his overall experience with the show didn’t leave much of a mark creatively.

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

When asked how he felt about Pierce’s storyline ending, he added, “I thought it ended great.”

Chase framed his departure as a breakdown in communication rather than malice, pushing back hard against accusations that have followed him for years.

“It was too great a misunderstanding of what I was saying and not saying,” he said. “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.”

The documentary and The Times revisit what happened during Season 4, when Chase grew increasingly unhappy with Pierce being written as overtly bigoted.

One storyline involving a blackface hand puppet reportedly pushed things over the edge. According to the film, Chase questioned whether his character would eventually be written to use a racial slur and allegedly said the word himself in frustration. Shortly after, he exited the series.

Director Jay Chandrasekhar, who worked on Community, appears in the documentary and describes a chaotic incident on set that followed news of the alleged slur leaking to the press. The situation involved Chase and co-star Yvette Nicole Brown, with Chandrasekhar recalling:

“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 Chase later returned but didn’t believe he’d done anything wrong.

“[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 eventually reported by The Hollywood Reporter, which stated Chase was frustrated with Pierce’s character arc and used the slur while questioning dialogue. The report emphasized that Chase didn’t direct the word at Brown or Donald Glover, though both were present.

According to Chandrasekhar, things only escalated when production resumed. “He comes storming onto the set, and he goes, ‘Who fucked me over?’ … My career is ruined! I’m ruined!’ Like, it’s a full meltdown. ‘F*ck all of you!’ And I’m like, ‘Alright, let’s shoot the scene.’ He never ended up coming back after that.”

Zenovich has said she attempted to include more cast and crew voices in the documentary, but said that “every single person said no” because “there are things people don’t want to talk about.”

As the documentary brought the controversy back into the spotlight, Brown appeared to address it on Instagram, 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.”

Glover has previously spoken about his experience as well, saying that Chase repeatedly made racist jokes on set. Chase, for his part, has made it clear that criticism from former co-stars doesn’t weigh on him. In an older interview, he said:

“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.”

The full New York Times interview offers even more insight into Chase’s mindset and his reflections on a career filled with both massive success and long-running controversy.