Legendary comedian and actor Chevy Chase recently got into a public back-and-forth with his “Community” co-star, Joel McHale. At one point, McHale said “That’s just Chevy being Chevy,” implying that his abrasive personality is well known in the Hollywood community.
And it’s true. For years, rumors have circulated that the 80-year-old actor is difficult to work with and, on top of that, kind of a jerk. Fans may find that surprising because it doesn’t match up with his funnyman persona in the least. But is there any truth to these rumors?
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Chase’s feud with McHale stems from an interview the “National Lampoon” actor did for Marc Maron’s “WTF” podcast in September. When asked about his decision to leave the comedy series “Community,” Chase gave a blunt response.
“I honestly felt the show wasn’t funny enough for me, ultimately. I felt a little bit constrained,” the actor told Maron. Chase’s character was eventually written off the show during season 4. “Everybody had their bits, and I thought they were all good. It just wasn’t hard-hitting enough for me.”
“I didn’t mind the character,” Chase said of playing millionaire community college student Pierce Hawthorne. “I just felt that it was … I felt happier being alone. I just didn’t want to be surrounded by that table, every day, with those people. It was too much.”
McHale told People of his former co-star’s comments, “I was like, ‘Hey, no one was keeping you there.’ I mean, we weren’t sentenced to that show. It was like, ‘All right, you could have left if you really wanted that.’ But yeah, you know Chevy. That’s Chevy being Chevy.”
“[Chase] stopped hurting my feelings in 2009,” McHale quipped, referring to the year the show started.
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McHale isn’t the only one who supposedly felt the sting of Chase’s behavior. There’s the legendary tale of Chase punching fellow comedian Bill Murray backstage on “SNL” in 1978 after saying Murray’s “face was so filled with pockmarks that it looked like the ideal landing spot for Neil Armstrong.” It should be noted that Murray had allegedly made derogatory remarks about Chase’s estranged wife first, which is what led to the physical altercation.
When asked about the fight during a 2010 interview with Esquire, Chase didn’t deny the comments but did explain that no punches were really thrown.
“Billy Murray and I came to fisticuffs, but we never really ended up hitting each other. We tried, but Belushi got in the middle and we both ended up hitting John,” he told the outlet at the time. “And if anybody deserved to be slapped in the forehead it was John, for instigating it all.”
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A lot of the comedic actor’s bad reputation stems from his time on “SNL.” There was the incident when he allegedly told Robert Downey, Jr. that his father was probably burning in hell. Legend also holds that Chase suggested doing AIDS skits about Terry Sweeney, one of his gay castmates on the show.
Many fans find it hard to reconcile all this negative press with the affable, lovable character Chase plays on TV and in movies. Born Cornelius Crane Chase in 1943, the actor hailed from lower Manhattan and Woodstock, New York. He became a breakout star as one of the original cast members on“Saturday Night Live” beginning in 1975 with the recurring Weekend Update skit that’s since become an integral part of the show.
Chase received four Emmy nominations and won twice for his writing and acting contributions on “SNL.” He was known for the catchphrase, “I’m Chevy Chase… and you’re not” plus his Weekend Update closing line, “Good night, and have a pleasant tomorrow.”
But he didn’t have very nice things to say about the modern version of “SNL.” Chase said during a 2018 interview with The Washington Post that the show’s current sketches aren’t up to his standards.
“I had to watch a little of it, and I just couldn’t f***ing believe it. That means a whole generation of sh**heads laughs at the worst f***ing humor in the world. You know what I mean? How could you dare give that generation worse sh** than they already have in their lives? It just drives me nuts,” Chase told the outlet.
Speaking of “SNL,” cast member Pete Davidson has no love for one of the show’s original members. “He’s a f***ing douchebag. F*** Chevy Chase. I hate that dude,” Davidson told Stern during an interview. “He’s just a genuinely bad, racist person, and I don’t like him,” the comedian added.
Chase was accused of being racist before. Donald Glover said the actor used racial slurs on the set of “Community,” including making “racial cracks” during filming. Glover claims Chase told him, “People think you’re funnier because you’re black” and said he used the n-word.
Following his success on “SNL,” the actor went on to star in the comedy “Foul Play” (1978) opposite Goldie Hawn. But he’s best known and loved for his portrayal of golfer Ty Webb in “Caddyshack” (1980) and Clark W. Griswold in five National Lampoon’s Vacation films. He also appeared in “Fletch” (1985), “Seems Like Old Times” (1980), “Spies Like Us” (1985), “Three Amigos!” (1986) and “Funny Farm” (1988).
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The actor had a bit of a downfall following his rise to superstardom. Subsequent movies didn’t perform as well as expected and his late night talk show, “The Chevy Chase Show,” was canceled after just five weeks.
But is Chase a man who’s unfairly judged, or is he really a terrible person beneath all the jokes? Fans may never know for sure, but to hear him tell it, he’s not too concerned about his reputation anyway. When asked about people calling him a “jerk” following his stint on “Community,” Chase told Entertainment Weekly that his haters can shove it.
“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 actor said.