Chevy Chase is revisiting the long-running questions around his sudden departure from Community, saying he was largely misunderstood as fresh attention follows CNN’s new documentary, I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not.
In an interview with The New York Times published alongside the documentary’s release, Chase looked back on his exit from the NBC comedy in 2012 after 83 episodes. When asked how he now views the end of his run on the show, Chase said the situation came down to miscommunication rather than bad intentions.
“It was a huge misunderstanding of what I was saying and what I wasn’t,” Chase told the outlet. “I felt there was at least one person — and another who, for reasons I still don’t understand, didn’t get me, didn’t know who I was, or never once realized that I’m not racist.”
He went on to add, “They were too young to really know my work. Instead, there was some kind of visceral reaction.”
The documentary revisits allegations connected to a tense moment on set during Community’s later seasons. According to reporting highlighted in the film, Chase had grown increasingly irritated with storylines that leaned heavily into his character Pierce Hawthorne’s bigotry, including a scene involving a hand puppet depicted in blackface.
The film claims that during a discussion about the scene, Chase used a racial slur while questioning whether his character would actually be expected to say it on screen.
Former Community director Jay Chandrasekhar recounts the incident in the documentary, describing the fallout that ultimately led to Chase’s exit from the series. The controversy has followed Chase for years and resurfaced again after the film’s premiere.
The documentary also sparked a response from Community cast member Yvette Nicole Brown, who appeared to address the renewed discussion in a recent Instagram post.
Without mentioning Chase by name, Brown wrote, “These 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.”
She added pointedly, “In East Cleveland speak: Keep my name out your mouth.”
In her caption, Brown made it clear she would not take on responsibility for others’ actions or narratives, writing that when people “choose to sully or defile themselves,” she allows them to “fully own what they alone have done.”
