Caley Chase, the daughter of actor Chevy Chase, recently shared details about a troubling incident that occurred during a wrap party for the television show Community. In a CNN documentary titled I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not, she recounted how her father faced heckling from the cast and crew during what was meant to be a celebratory event.
Caley, now 40, reflected on the moment with a sense of disbelief. “My dad was super excited to bring me and my mom to the wrap party,” she explained. “We walk in, and Dan [Harmon], he had had some drinks. He had gotten the whole cast and crew to yell, ‘F*** you, Chevy!’ ‘F*** you, Chevy!’” This unexpected reception, she noted, was particularly harsh given the context of her father’s pride in showcasing his work to his family.
The popular NBC sitcom, which premiered in 2009, followed the comedic exploits of a community college study group and ran for five seasons. It was briefly revived for a sixth season on Yahoo! Screen in 2015. Chevy Chase portrayed the character Pierce Hawthorne but departed from the series in 2012 after a controversial incident involving the use of a racial slur on set.
According to Jay Chandrasekhar, the director of several episodes of Community, the tensions escalated during a scene that included a racially charged hand puppet bit intended for Chase’s character. Both Yvette Nicole Brown, one of Chase’s co-stars, and Chandrasekhar recalled the fallout from this incident. “I know that there was a history around race, and she got up and stormed out of there,” Chandrasekhar reflected. “Chevy storms off, so the producer is like, ‘We need Yvette in the scene, right?’”
The situation intensified when a request for Chase to apologize was met with resistance. “He goes, ‘For what?’” Chandrasekhar recalled, noting that the actor felt unjustly accused. Following the incident, a report from The Hollywood Reporter highlighted Chase’s emotional response, with him reportedly expressing frustration about feeling “ruined” over the fallout.
Harmon, who served as the showrunner, was dismissed shortly after the voicemail incident involving Chase went public. Their relationship remained complicated, as Chevy Chase later described his feelings on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast in 2023. “I have no idea if we’re OK,” he stated, adding, “He’s kind of a pisser. He’s angry.”
Yvette Nicole Brown, who witnessed the tensions firsthand, addressed their working relationship indirectly in a post on social media. When a fan inquired about it, she responded, “Never have. Probably never will.” This suggested a reluctance to revisit the past.
The documentary I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not sheds light on the complexities of Chase’s career, particularly his departure from Community. It includes insights from both cast and crew about the challenges they faced during production and how they navigated the fallout from Chase’s actions. As this documentary unfolds, it prompts a deeper examination of the dynamics behind the scenes of a show that garnered a dedicated following despite its controversies.
Overall, the revelations from Caley Chase and the documentary highlight the lasting impacts of on-set behavior and the challenges of navigating personal relationships in the entertainment industry.
