Why was Chevy Chase fired from Community? Comedian’s troubled work history explored as he breaks silence in being excluded from SNL 50

Chevy Chase has broken his silence on being excluded from the Saturday Night Live 50-year Anniversary Special.

The 82-year-old expressed deep hurt in the CNN Films’ upcoming documentary, I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not, premiering January 1, 2026. He said:

“Well, it was kind of upsetting actually. This is probably the first time I'm saying it. But I expected that I would've been on the stage too with all the other actors.”

Chase attended the event but had no onstage role or sketches, unlike fellow Season 1 alums Garrett Morris and Laraine Newman. Born Cornelius Crane Chase in 1943, the comedian rose to fame as one of the original cast members of the show. According to a report in Variety, Chase was fired from the Community during season 4 after using a racial slur on set.

Continue to read for more details.

Chevy Chase’s troubled work history as a comedian explored

Chevy Chase gained a reputation for being difficult to work with, leading to conflicts with his co-stars and crew members.

He was one of the popular cast members on Saturday Night Live, but he left the show in its second season. Chase claimed that he left SNL and New York for a girl, Jacqueline Carlin, as reported by ScreenRant. He was engaged to her during the first episode of the show and married in 1976. He didn’t want to move to New York because of the show.

However, other reports claimed that he had a heated rivalry with John Belushi which stems from their time at National Lampoon's Lemmings and The National Lampoon Radio Hour. Reportedly, Belushi resented Chase’s upper-class style and rapid rise on SNL.

Belushi’s widow, Judith spoke about their love-hate relationship in the book, Live From New York. He said:

“John and Chevy were always antagonistic and friends. It was a love-hate kind of thing. They worked together well when they were trying to.”

Chevy Chase also shared an infamous fight with Bill Murray in 1978 during an episode Murray hosted. Reports stated that Murray made a rude remark about Chase's then-troubled marriage to Jacqueline Carlin, which resulted in a fist fight. In an interview with Esquire, Chase said:

“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. And if anybody deserved to be slapped in the forehead, it was John for instigating it all.”

However, the two reunited while filming Caddyshack in 1980 through improvised scenes that helped bury the hatchet. Since then they have spoken positively of each other. Belushi tragically passed away at the age of 33 due to a drug overdose.

During an interview with The New Yorker Dan Harmon, the creator of Community recounted the racist remarks Chevy Chase made against Donald Glover on the set of the show. He told the outlet:

“Chevy was the first to realize how immensely gifted Donald was, and the way he expressed his jealousy was to try to throw Donald off. I remember apologizing to Donald after a particularly rough night of Chevy’s non-P.C. verbiage, and Donald said, ‘I don’t even worry about it.’”

While speaking to Variety in an interview, the co-creator/first anchor of Weekend Update once said that he “doesn’t give a crap” about his problematic behavior on set who has been described by his co-stars as racist, misogynistic and “horrific.” He told the outlet:

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“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.”

Chase recently featured in a new CNN documentary offering a candid look at his life and career.

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