Chevy Chase insists 'he's not racist' as he defends himself against explosive new documentary
Chevy Chase has addressed a number of claims about him in a new documentary which dropped on New Year's Day.
The Saturday Night Live alum and former Community star has never shied away from controversy, which was largely addressed in CNN's documentary I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not.
Chase made a name for himself with his role in the National Lampoon's Vacation film series, becoming a comedic staple in Hollywood in the 1980s.
However, he has been accused of a number of things throughout his career, including drug use, racism and general rudeness.
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Following the release of the long-awaited documentary, the 82-year-old appears to be fighting for his reputation despite some friends contributing to the special with their own opinions on the senior comic.
He even shared a heated moment with the documentary's director, Marina Zenovich, while on camera after she said that she wanted to 'figure him out', to which he suggested that she wasn't 'bright enough'.
Chase spoke about the racism allegations made against him in the documentary during an interview with The New York Times, claiming that he 'isn't racist', instead being 'misunderstood'.
Without naming names, 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 realise 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."
Most of the allegations stem from his time as Pierce Hawthorne on NBC sitcom Community, which he starred in from 2009 to 2013.
It is alleged that he used the N-word on set, while criticising a storyline involving a 'blackface hand puppet'.
While his character was intentionally bigoted and tone-deaf, his use of the word in the presence of co-stars Donald Glover and Yvette Nicole Brown reportedly made them uncomfortable.
He explained: "It was too great a misunderstanding of what I was saying and not saying."
Chase then clashed with showrunner Dan Harmon, with a leaked voicemail from the actor to the creator saying: "This is not my kind of comedy.
"I thought you hired me for what I can do that’s funny. You’ve got to give me some range."
In the interview with the New York Times, he repeated what was heard in the leaked voicemails about his time on Community: "It wasn’t a bad experience. I just didn’t think it was that good, the show."
None of his co-stars from the show wanted to participate in the documentary to speak about his time on it.
Brown even took to Instagram last week, posting a seemingly cryptic post which explained that 'if I have something to say, I have NO problem saying it', adding that 'it is beneath me'.
Jay Chandrasekhar, a comedian who was a director on the show, recalled in the doc: "The character is a little tone-deaf … Had it been Chevy in his heyday, he would have been totally fine, right. He said something to Yvette, I know there was a history between those two, around race."
He remembered them both storming out, with the latter refusing to return until Chase was fired.
Apparently, when Chase returned, he claimed that he 'used to call Richard Pryor the N-word, and he used to call me The Honky', and they 'loved each other'.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact Stop Hate UK by visiting their website www.stophateuk.org.
Topics: Saturday Night Live, Community, Racism, Celebrity, Documentaries
Joshua Nair