Caley Chase, daughter of actor Chevy Chase, revealed that during a wrap party for the NBC sitcom Community, the cast and crew heckled her father. In a recent documentary titled I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not, Caley recounted the experience, stating, “My dad was super excited to bring me and my mom to the wrap party. We walk in, and Dan, he had had some drinks. He had gotten the whole cast and crew to yell, ‘F*** you, Chevy!’”
The sitcom, which followed a diverse group of community college students, premiered in 2009 and ran for five seasons before its revival for a sixth season on Yahoo! Screen in 2015. Caley, now 40, described the moment as “rough and mean,” recalling how her father was eager to introduce her to his colleagues while facing such hostility upon arrival.
The documentary features insights from Jay Chandrasekhar, the director of several episodes of Community. He discussed a particularly contentious moment involving Chase and a “blackface” hand puppet bit written for his character, Pierce Hawthorne. According to Chandrasekhar, tensions escalated when co-star Yvette Nicole Brown left the set after feeling uncomfortable with the scene.
Chandrasekhar recounted, “Chevy storms off, so the producer is like, ‘We need Yvette in the scene, right?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, she’s in the next scene.’ And he goes, ‘Well, she won’t come out unless Chevy apologizes to her.’” When prompted to apologize, Chase reportedly questioned, “For what?”
After details of the incident were published by The Hollywood Reporter, Chandrasekhar described a subsequent outburst from Chase. He recalled, “Chevy came storming onto the set, and he goes, ‘Who f***ed me over? My career is ruined! I’m ruined!’” This confrontation marked a significant turning point for Chase, who ultimately left the show in 2012 after a series of controversies, including the use of a racial slur on set.
Throughout his time on Community, Chase had a tumultuous relationship with creator Dan Harmon. Following a public fallout that included an angry voicemail leak, Harmon was ousted as showrunner. In a 2023 podcast interview on WTF with Marc Maron, Chase reflected on his relationship with Harmon, stating, “I have no idea if we’re OK. I’ve never been not OK. He’s kind of a pisser. He’s angry. He called and said he was sorry. I love him now.”
Brown, who witnessed the fallout, responded to Chase’s podcast comments via social media, joking, “He seems nice.” She further indicated she would not be addressing her working dynamic with Chase in the future, stating, “Never have. Probably never will.”
As new revelations about Chase’s experiences on Community emerge, the documentary continues to shed light on the complexities of his relationships with cast members and the impact of his actions on the show’s legacy.
