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yesterday

Director in CNN Documentary Details Chevy Chase’s On-Set Slur and 'Community' Meltdown

The authorized film features Jay Chandrasekhar’s firsthand account of a 2012 rehearsal clash that halted production, preceding Chase’s departure.

FILE - Steve Martin, Randy Newman and Chevy Chase rehearse a musical number at the NBC studios in New York's Rockefeller Center, Dec. 5, 1986, in preparation for their reunion on "Saturday Night Live." (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
FILE - Comedian Chevy Chase, second from left, joins cast of NBC-TV's "Saturday Night Live," Feb. 16, 1978 in New York, where he first got his start with the "Not Ready For Prime Time Players." Others are, from left, Jane Curtin, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, and Laraine Newman. Chase is doing a guest shot on the program. (AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler, File)
FILEW - Colin Quinn, from left, Chevy Chase and Norm Macdonald appear onstage at The 2012 Comedy Awards in New York, Saturday, April 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes, File)
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Overview

  • Chandrasekhar says he was directing the night Chase was fired after using the N-word during work on a scene involving a 'blackface' hand-puppet gag.
  • Yvette Nicole Brown left the set and, according to the director, producers said she would not return without an apology that Chase resisted after invoking his past with Richard Pryor.
  • News of a 'racial incident' leaked to The Hollywood Reporter, and Chandrasekhar recalls Chase returning in a 'full meltdown' and shouting that his career was ruined.
  • Production was halted after the episode; Chase later issued an apology and exited after Season 4, returning for a brief cameo in 2014.
  • The CNN film I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not premieres Jan. 1 and includes family recollections and context about Chase’s feud with creator Dan Harmon, including the wrap-party chant.